New Delhi, Dec 4 (Agency) Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday said Para athletes are our strength on the occasion of 29th World Disability Day. The Minister attended a virtual session on World Disability Day on Thursday in the presence of Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) President Deepa Malik, revered Indian Para Athletes Devendra Jhajharia, Parul Parmar and Shatabdi Awasthi, Secretary General, PCI Gursharan Singh and Chief Patron, PCI Avinash Rai Khanna.
“Our Para Athletes and ‘Divyang’ warriors are our strength. They give us inspiration and the Ministry is leaving no stone unturned to support them with no difference between an able and a differently-abled sportsperson. We felicitate them with the same amount of recognition,” the Sports Minister said. Rijiju also added that he will request the state governments to support the Paralympians in their respective region in the best possible way. “I will request the respective state governments to have a policy for the ‘Divyang’ warriors like the Central Government has contributed, to support the Paralympians in the best way possible, from financial to coaching and training facilities to proper livelihood and so on. The Government, the PCI and everyone are a team and we need to carry on our work of supporting our Para Athletes.” Padma Shri, Khel Ratna and Arjuna Awardee Devendra Jhajharia thanked the government for their immense contribution in always helping the Para Athletes in a swift manner. “Whenever we send a mail to the government stating our problems or things we need, we get a reply within an hour. This has been an immense motivation booster for all of us,” Jhajharia said.