Sharad Kumar hails India’s best-ever Commonwealth Games para campaign

Paris Paralympics silver medallist Sharad Kumar praised India's para-athletes for producing exceptional results despite comparatively lower funding, highlighting the country's historic Commonwealth Games performance while advocating greater support for para sports and inclusion through initiatives like Para Elan

New Delhi: Paris Paralympics silver-winning high-jumper Sharad Kumar on Friday said the country’s para-athletes are delivering path-breaking results despite comparatively less funding as he lauded their best ever Commonwealth Games performance in Glasgow recently.

India’s para-sports contingent secured seven medals (three gold, two silver, and two bronze) for the country’s most successful para campaign in the history of the Commonwealth Games.

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“The amount of money being put into para sports is comparatively less than other sports, and yet we are delivering tremendous results. When para-athletes perform, sports show that anybody can win,” Kumar said on the sidelines of the Indo-French initiative ‘Para Elan – Sab Ka Maidan’ — a student outreach programme to promote French language in the national capital.

“This is the first time that para sports have won gold medals at the Commonwealth Games. Because of that, our ranking went from 23rd to fourth. You realise the last two gold medals were what helped us break into the top four,” he said of India’s final standing after winning 39 medals overall.

Kumar said India’s para-athletes have consistently punched above their weight despite comparatively lower investment in the sector.

Para-sports has been a part of the country’s flagship target Olympic Podium Scheme since its inception in 2014 but the number of athletes on TOPS roster has increased substantially in recent years.

“The amount of money being put into para sports is comparatively less than other sports, and yet we are delivering tremendous results. When para-athletes perform, sports show that anybody can win,” said the former world number one, who also has a bronze from the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

French Ambassador to India Thierry Mathou, who was also present at Friday’s event, said para sport is a powerful tool for social change.

The French Institute in India (IFI), under the Embassy of France, in collaboration with the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI), inaugurated the initiative at Thyagaraj Stadium, bringing together students from schools across Delhi for adaptive sports demonstrations and interactive sessions with para-athletes.

The programme is part of the three-year initiative, inaugurated in April, which aims to reach more than 10,000 students across India through awareness campaigns and school engagement programmes centred on inclusion and para sports.

Mathou said the initiative was built around promoting diversity through both language and sport.

“Sport is an exceptional way to communicate, exchange views and interact, and the Paralympics are a way to learn from others. Teaching French, talking about diversity, promoting differences and doing sports is our ambition,” he added.