A car accident in 2012 left Avani Lekhara wheelchair-bound but on Monday the shooter felt 'on top of the world' after becoming the first Indian woman to win a Paralympic gold medal.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually interacted with 10 athletes, including 2016 Rio edition gold winners Devendra Jhajharia and Mariyappan Thangavelu, and urged them to compete without pressure at the upcoming Tokyo Paralympics.
Rio Olympic medallist Sakshi Malik, Virat Kohli are in the list
Satyanarayana, who has coached Rio Paralympics gold medallist Mariyappan Thangavelu, has been dropped from the list of this year's Dronacharya awardees due to a criminal case pending against him before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate at Saket in Delhi.
Ace Indian sprinter Dutee Chand said the Arjuna Award will motivate her to win a prestigious Olympic medal at the Tokyo Games next year.
Flag bearer Tek Chand will lead the Indian contingent -- India will be represented by 54 para athletes, the biggest ever contingent in the history of the Games.
However, the athlete was allowed to go after the enquiry on Sunday.
India's Deepa Malik created history by becoming the first-ever woman from the country to win a medal at the Paralympics when she bagged a silver in the shotput F-53 event in Rio de Janeiro on Monday.
India's Deepa Malik created history by becoming the first-ever woman from the country to win a medal at the Paralympics when she bagged a silver in the shotput F-53 event in Rio de Janeiro on Monday.
Sports Minister hands over trophies to 2020 National Sports Awards winners
Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar showered praise on Deepa Malik, who created history by becoming the first-ever Indian woman to win a medal at the Paralympics.
5 athletes, 6 officials from Indian contingent to take part in Paralympics opening.
India's Amit Kumar Saroha missed the bronze medal by a whisker in the men's F51 club throw competition at the Rio Paralympic Games on Friday.
Four Indian Paralympics medal winners at the Rio Games last month -- Devendra Jhajharia, Mariyappan Thangavelu, Deepa Malik and Varun Singh Bhati -- were on Monday felicitated by a host of personalities, including cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar.
Shooter Avani Lekhara scripted history on Monday as she became the first Indian woman to win a gold medal at the Paralympics, firing her way to the top of the podium in the R-2 women's 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 event in Tokyo.
Here's a recap of events that occurred in India in the past 24 hours.
Rio Olympics silver medallist P V Sindhu was bestowed with the Sportsperson of the Year award during the 'Maruti Suzuki Sportsperson of the Year' Charity Gala Awards on Thursday night.
Last Thursday, the awards selection committee of Khel Ratna recommended para athlete and Rio Paralympics gold medallist Devendra Jhajharia for the prestigious award for 2017.
The first Indian woman to clinch a Paralympic medal, a thrilled Deepa Malik says her F-53 shot put silver is a result of being daring enough to dream. Deepa's best throw of 4.61m from her six attempts was enough to clinch the silver medal. "I dared to dream and I have determination to work hard and the passion and perseverance to follow that dream. Women often lose that and I have ensured that my family is not neglected, my children are doing well too," Deepa said.
India's leading table tennis player Sharath Kamal, who was ignored for Padma Shri, feels the existing awards application system makes the athletes beg for the honour.
India sign off Paralympics with an unparalleled 19 medals: 5 gold, 8 silver, 6 bronze.
Aiming to improve its standing as a sporting nation globally, India is trying to adopt the models followed by Australia and United Kingdom.
India's limited-overs vice-captain Rohit Sharma, star wrestler Vinesh Phogat, TT player Manika Batra and Paralympic gold-winning high jumper Mariyappan Thangavelu were on Tuesday picked for this year's Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award by the sports ministry's selection committee.
This was due to the fact that they had already won the Khel Ratna, the country's highest sporting honour.
Infuriated over Khel Ratna snub Paralympian Deepa Malik gets Haryana CM backing 'And I am not lobbying for it. Lobbying is when you try to influence people before the committee sits and decide. When I found my name is not there, I wrote to the ministry, it's an appeal. I have got the backing of my state CM. Haryana is a sports conscious state. He (CM) also felt that I have been overlooked'
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
The Sports Ministry dropped para-sports coach Satyanarayana from the list of this year's Dronacharya awardees due to a criminal case pending against him, but made no changes to the names recommended for the Khel Ratna and Arjuna awards.
Political stalwarts Murli Manohar Joshi, Sharad Pawar and former Lok Sabha speaker P A Sangma, cricketer Virat Kohli and Carnatic musician K J Yesudas were among the 89 people who were selected for this year's Padma awards.
The gold medal in men's javelin throw F46 category in the Rio Paralympics made Devendra Jhajharia the most successful Indian para athlete ever but he is in no mood to stop here and is eyeing for a treble in the 2020 Tokyo Games. The 35-year-old Jhajharia, a left-hand amputee, is the only Indian para athlete to have won two gold medals in the Paralympics, the earlier one being the yellow metal he won in 2004 Athens. "I am not stopping here after the Rio success. I have enough gas in my tank and I will definitely go for gold in Tokyo. I know my body and I can still train two hours in the morning and two hours in the evening rigorously everyday, just like I did in the build-up to the Rio Paralympics," Jhajharia told PTI in an interview.
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