Salute our Paralympians, they are like real heroes: Vijender Singh

By IANS

NEW DELHI: Beijing Olympics bronze-medal winner Vijender Singh on Wednesday showered praises on Tokyo Paralympics medallists, saying, “I salute them for their performances despite facing so many problems in life… nothing is impossible for them.”

From an Indian point of view, just like the recently concluded 2020 Olympics, the current edition of the Paralympics in Tokyo will never be forgotten. Indians have already registered their best ever performance at a single edition of the Paralympics with the medal haul touching double figures for the first time in history.

Delighted with the performance, Vijender told IANS that, “I got to know about their stories. Some faced a lot of troubles but despite all odds, they (Paralympians) came out strong and made India proud. They are real heroes like army men and others. People should learn from them that nothing is impossible.

“I want to congratulate and salute each of our para-athletes for their achievements. And wish them luck for their prosperous future. I watched how Antil (Sumit) and Jhajharia (Devendra) delivered some brilliant throws (Javelin). Sumit even broke the world records thrice. I was amazed. They are doing so well,” the professional boxer added.

So far India have won 10 medals — Bhavina Patel (Table Tennis) – Silver, Nishad Kumar (High Jump) – Silver, Avani Lekhara (Shooting) – Gold, Yogesh Kathuniya (Discus Throw) – Silver, Devendra Jhajharia (Javelin Throw) – Silver, Sundar Singh Gurjar (Javelin Throw) – Bronze, Sumit Antil (Javelin Throw) – Gold, Singhraj Adhana (Shooting) – Bronze, Mariyappan Thangavelu (High Jump) – Silver, Sharad Kumar (High Jump) – Bronze — in Tokyo. With further medal contenders participating in their respective events, hopes are high of more laurels.

Vijender also congratulated javelin sensation Neeraj Chopra for winning gold in the Tokyo Olympics. “He (Neeraj) was awesome there and I felt so proud of him.”