Tokyo Paralympians felicitated by Vice President Venkaiah Naidu

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday felicitated the history-making Paralympians with the Haryana government handing out cash rewards for the medallists at The NorthCap University. Cash rewards of Rs. 6 crore to the gold-winning athletes, Rs. 4 crore to silver, and Rs. 2.5 crores to the bronze medal winners were distributed along with government jobs.

"It's my immense pleasure that I received a chance to felicitate the winners of the Tokyo Paralympics 2020. The athletes have created a history and made all of us proud," Naidu said. "The entire nation complements and salutes them for their enormous contribution in the field of sports. I feel honored while honoring the athletes," he added.

The Indian para-athletes returned from Tokyo on the back of a sensational campaign that saw them win an unparalleled 19 medals, including five gold, eight silver and six bronze. This was the country's best-ever Paralympics campaign as it finished 24th in the overall tally. The Harayana government also distributed a reward of Rs. 50 Lakh and Rs 15 Lakh to the players who performed extremely well at the Paralympics.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal said, "Our Paralympic players are a source of inspiration for the entire society. Leaving the weakness of their bodies behind they have reached the top of their game and won a medal for our country." "For the next Olympics, we have set a target of 100 participants from Haryana and winning 50 medals. The goal is to bring maximum medals for the country without worrying about the budget," he added.