Even though India took home 29 medals from the Paris Paralympics, eight Haryana athletes took home medals.

At the opening ceremony of the second phase of the State-level Khel Mahakumbh at Tau Devi Lal Sports Complex on Wednesday morning, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini honored the eight 2024 Paris Paralympic medallists from Haryana. Two-time Paralympic champion Sumit Antil was applauding the roughly 2000 athletes in attendance at the stadium, along with other medallists. Saini gave Antil a financial reward of Rs six crore for defending his title at the Paris Paralympics last year. Antil had previously won the Paralympics in the men’s javelin throw F64 category during the Tokyo Paralympics.

When your efforts are acknowledged by the state, it feels unique. In addition to coaches, my family also deserves this award, including my mother Nirmala Devi, wife Sheetal, and son Meet. Every young person who witnesses such acknowledgment is always inspired to attempt to elevate Haryana and India. In an interview  Antil, a jailer from Khewra village near Sonipat, advised all of them to follow their passions and never give up.

Absolutely! Here’s the corrected version of the 3rd subheading with Haryana included:

Haryana :  Gold Medalists Receive ₹6 Crore Each, Silver Medalists ₹4 Crore

Even though India took home 29 medals from the Paris Paralympics, eight Haryana athletes took home medals. With gold medallists receiving Rs six crore and silver medallists receiving Rs four crore, Saini gave the eight Paralympic medalists cash awards totaling Rs 42 crore. Nitesh Kumar took home the gold in the men’s badminton SL3 division, while Antil earned the gold in the F64 javelin throw. While Harvinder Singh took home the gold in the men’s recover archery event in Paris, Dharambir Nain won the gold in the men’s throw event in the F51 category. In the SH1 event for men’s 10m air pistol shooting, Manish Narwal took home the silver medal. In the men’s discus throw F56 event, Yogesh Kathunia, a resident of Bahadurgarh with Guillain-Barré syndrome, took second place, while Pranav Soorma, a native of Faridabad, who suffered quadriplegia after the roof of his house collapsed, took second place in the men’s club throw F51 competition in Paris. In the F41 men’s javelin throw competition, Navdeep Singh, a native of Panipat, took home the silver medal. Receiving the Rashtriya Bal Puraskar from then-President Pranav Mukherjee in 2012, Navdeep Singh believes that such honors will inspire the state’s youth to achieve and participate in sports from an early age. In addition to recognizing each of us, our state of Haryana also acknowledges the contributions of everyone along the way. This award ceremony, which also marked the beginning of the second phase of Khel Mahakumbh, would encourage the state’s youth to participate in sports and abstain from vices like drugs. We are happy that our medals will motivate the children of Haryana, who are its greatest asset,” Navdeep Singh remarked.

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The same was reiterated by Pranav Soorma, a native of Faridabad. Such encouragement is always a source of inspiration for athletes and young people alike. Players like us began playing sports after witnessing our heroes win gold for India and Haryana. The same is true of the players competing in the Khel Mahakumbh. We are also inspired to perform at our highest level in upcoming contests by such accolades,” Soorma remarked.

Khel Mahakumbh Empowers 25,000+ Athletes Across Two Phases

Five Khel Mahakumbh competitions have been held since the competition’s debut in 2017. In all, 15,140 competitors participated in 26 different sports at the Khel Mahakumbh’s first phase. There will be 9,959 athletes competing in the second phase. In addition to being a sporting event, Khel Mahakumbh serves as a platform for fostering young people’s dreams and exemplifying the state’s commitment to sporting greatness. In addition to expressing a wish to host the Olympics in India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set the target of making India a sports superpower by the 2036 Games. Haryana athletes will, in my opinion, bring home the most medals for India at that time. We’re working to help players win medals for Haryana at the national and Indian international levels, and this Khel Mahakumbh also intends to develop fresh talent in a variety of sports,” Saini said.

Haryana is the top in Indian sports, according to Gaurav Gautam, the state minister of sports for Haryana. “The leader of Haryana has always profited from initiatives for athletes, and this Khel Mahakumbh is also moving in that direction. “Haryana State Games will also be held later this year under the direction of Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini,” Gautam stated.

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31 Haryana coaches have consistently received financial awards from the Haryana CM totaling Rs 3.56 crore for their exceptional contributions to sports. Gold medalists from this year’s national games were honored, together with the heads of 75 great sports nurseries in the state and 75 exceptional coaches from the sports department.