Modi to meet India's record Asian Para Games contingent in Delhi on Thursday

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet India’s Asian Para Games contingent on Thursday, honouring the team that won the country’s best haul at the Games in Japan last month.

The meeting is set for about 4:30 pm at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex in New Delhi, where Modi will interact with the para-athletes. “He will also address the gathering on the occasion,” the Prime Minister’s Office said on Wednesday.

At Aichi-Nagoya last month, 97 Indian para-athletes won 114 medals: 30 gold, 35 silver and 49 bronze. No Indian team has won more at the Asian Para Games. India finished fourth in the medal table, behind China, Japan and Uzbekistan, with para athletics alone bringing in 65 medals.

Modi had sent the squad off in October, saying India was “immensely proud of our phenomenal para-athletes.” When the Games ended he hailed “an extraordinary achievement,” writing that “with a record 114 medals, this marks India’s best-ever performance at the Games.”

Thursday’s event follows the pattern of last month, when the Prime Minister hosted the Asian Games medallists at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium on 15 October, after a campaign that brought India 85 medals, also in Aichi-Nagoya.

The para contingent’s stars include Sumit Antil, who retained his javelin title as India swept the podium, and shooter Mona Agarwal, who won two golds and set a world record in the 50m rifle 3 positions SH1.