The Indian contingent achieved its best-ever medals tally at Paris Paralympics 2024, securing a record-breaking 29 medals – 7 gold, 9 silver, and 13 bronze. Recognising their achievements at this year’s Paris Paralympics, NDTV honoured the athletes at their Indian Of The Year 2024 ceremony in New Delhi. The likes of Praveen Kumar (high jump), Preethi Pal (athletics), Yogesh Kathunia (discus throw), Simran Sharma (athletics) and Parnav Soorma (club throw) were present at the ceremony.
The athletes were accompanied by the Paralympic Committee of India president Devendra Jhajharia.
“NDTV has honoured our para champions and federation with a wonderful ceremony, thank you for that. As a sportsperson, I have received five Presidential Awards and when I received the first Presidential Award, I was very happy. I remember the medal I won at the Athens Paralympics the most. But as an administrator, this is the first time I have been given an award by NDTV. I will remember this award all my life,” Jhajharia said at NDTV’s Indian of the Year ceremony.
“I represented the country at Paralympic games, and won three medals. Now I am working as an administrator. The performance of our team in Paris Paralympics was due to the hard work of our players. But there were many people behind this. I remember that there was a point outside the sports village, where the NDTV team used to stay. And I used to give interviews to that team again and again. Somehow NDTV did the work of bringing this Paralympic moment to the country. This is a very big thing,” Jhajharia added.
Club thrower Parnav also opened up on the motivation behind his silver medal winning performance at Paris 2024.
“This was my first Paralympics. Like any other athlete, I was also very nervous. But my goal was to give my best because had i missed this opportunity, i would’ve had to wait four years fr the next chance. So, that’s why, I had to do better. I had an accident in 2011. I wanted to quit even before things started for me,” Parnav said at the ceremony.
“Over the years, I have learnt that there is no shortcut to success. You have to work hard for success, you have to sacrifice a lot. It is very important that you understand your limitations and recognise your strengths, so that you can overcome your weaknesses with your strengths. If your plan does not work then you should change your plan, not your goal. I consider myself very lucky,” Parnav added.
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