Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President of India Droupadi Murmu and Youth Affairs and Sports Mansukh Mandaviya heaped praise on world No. 1 India Judoka Kapil Parmar for winning the bronze medal at the ongoing Paris Paralympics 2024. Kapil Parmar clinched a bronze medal by ousting Brazil's Elielton de Oliveira in the men's -60kg J1 contest on Thursday at the Paris Paralympics.
"Heartiest congratulations to Kapil Parmar on winning bronze medal in para judo event at the Paris 2024 Paralympics. He has overcome many obstacles, and has created history by becoming the first Indian to win a medal in judo event at Paralympics. I wish him greater achievements in future," Murmu wrote.
"And that's a 25th medal for Bharat A groundbreaking moment for Bharat! Kapil Parmar secures a Bronze medal in Men's 60kg J1 at the #Paralympics2024 Para Judo event! Our first-ever medal in Judo at the Paralympics. What an achievement! Proud of you!" Mandaviya said.
Kapil entered the bronze medal clash after enduring a 0-10 defeat against Iran's Banitaba Khorram Abadi in the semi-finals earlier on Thursday. Kapil, who comes from a small village named Shivor in Madhya Pradesh, made his way into the final four after dominating Venezuela's Marcos Dennis Blanco with an emphatic 10-0 win.
In the women's category, Kokila lost her preliminary round clash of the J2 - 48 category 0-10 against Ukraine's Yuliia Ivanytska. The defeat brought a bitter end to Kokila's campaign. India's medal tally now stands at 25, with five gold, nine silver, and 11 bronze. In the medal tally list, India now stands in the 14th position.The Indian contingent has already broken its best medal haul of 19 that was scripted in the Tokyo edition three years ago.
In the other sporting events, in the para shooting mixed 50m rifle prone SH1 qualification, India's Sidhartha Babu and Mona Agarwal failed to qualify for the next round. Sidhartha finished 22nd with a total of 615.8 points, while Mona finished 30th with 610.5 points. The Indian duo struggled to find consistency and shot in the nine-point region, which derailed their chances of making the cut for the final.
Sidhartha's best performance in the qualification round came in the fourth series when he shot 104.6 points. While Mona's best came out in the opening series when she shot 104.5 points. However, she coudn't keep the momentum in her favour and failed to qualify for the final.
(ANI)