India’s 4 Paralympic medallists from Rio 2016

November 14, 2016 Naresh Sagar

Here’s a look at what’s been happening in the world of GoSports Foundation over the past month…

Sachin Tendulkar Felicitates the Paralympians

The Paralympians with their medals at the felicitation held by Sachin Tendulkar

The GoSports Foundation team with the Paralympics medallists from the past. From L-R (Clockwise):
Murlikant Petkar, Bhimrao Kesarkar, H.N. Girisha and Rajinder Rahelu

India’s 4 Paralympic medallists from Rio 2016 – Devendra Jhajharia, Deepa Malik, Mariyappan Thangavelu and Varun Bhati were felicitated by Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar. In a magnanimous gesture, he and his network also recognised all of India’s previous Paralympic medallists with cash awards – Murlikant Petkar [Gold, Swimming, 1972 Heidelberg], Bhimrao Kesarkar [Silver, Javelin, 1984 Stoke Mandeville/New York], Rajinder Rahelu [Bronze, Powerlifting, 2004 Athens] & H.N. Girisha [Silver, High Jump, 2012 London]. Sachin and his network also supported GoSports Foundation with a significant contribution towards the Paralympic movement in India. More information on the event is available here.

Paralympians’ Felicitation by Sony Pictures Networks & Fun with Kapil Sharma!

The Paralympians at the felicitation conducted by Associate Partner Sony Pictures Networks

Sony Pictures Networks, the Associate Partner to our Para Champions Programme, celebrated the achievements of all 11 of the Paralympians from the programme on 7th October, 2016. As part of Sony’s employee engagement initiatives, India’s heroes from Rio were welcomed with a rousing reception at Sony’s Malad office and were part of an entertaining interactive session between the employees and athletes.

The Paralympians at The Kapil Sharma Show

Our athletes’ adventure at Sony’s office culminated with being featured on The Kapil Sharma Show, one of India’s leading prime-time comedy shows. The show received an overwhelming response from nationwide audiences on prime-time television. The show also brought out the fun-loving and witty nature of our high-performing Paralympians. This special episode of The Kapil Sharma Show can be viewed here (show begins from 16:23).

… And here is what our athletes have been busy doing over the past month

Athlete Performances

Chikkarangappa – The Bengaluru local has had a stellar few weeks with 3 successive top 10 finishes on the Asian Tour, followed by winning the TAKE Open on the PGTI at the Karnataka Golf Course. More information on Chikkarangappa’s most recent achievement is available here.

Saurav Sharma – Taekwondo champion Saurav helped India claim back-to-back gold medals in Thailand, at the Heroes Championship and the Tirak International Championship, respectively, upsetting higher pedigree teams in the process. These performances will go a long way in helping Saurav make his way into the top 100 of the world in his weight category. More information is available here.

From L-R: Chikkarangappa following his stellar performances on the Asian Tour & Saurav Sharma with his Gold Medal after victory in Thailand

Ruthvika Shivani – 19 year old Ruthvika Shivani, a rising star, clinched her maiden Grand Prix title by winning the Russian Open after edging Russia’s Evgeniya Kostetskaya in Vladivostok: 21-10, 21-13. By virtue of her performances, Ruthvika has climbed up to a career high ranking of World No. 53. More information on Ruthvika’s performance is available here.

Gayatri Pullela & Samiya Imad Farooqui – Gayatri and Samiya clinched bronze in the under-15 girls doubles at the Badminton Asia U-17 and U-15 Junior Championships in Indonesia. More information on their performance is available here.

From L-R: Ruthvika Shivani with her maiden Grand Prix Title & Samiya Farooqui and Gayatri Pullela with their Bronze Medals

Sathiyan Gnanasekaran – Sathiyan won his first pro title by toppling crowd favourite Nuytinck Cedric 4-0 in the final of the Belgium Open. Despite missing out on the Olympics, Sathiyan stayed determined and beat much higher ranked opponents through the course of the tournament. More information on his Belgium Open win is available here.

Sandeep Sejwal & Supriya Mondal – Sandeep and Supriya bagged a series of Gold, Silver and Bronze medals at the Senior National Aquatic Championships which were held in Ranchi. Youth Commonwealth Games medallist Supriya bagged 4 medals in his events at the Nationals, while Olympian Sandeep captured 2 golds in his events in Ranchi. More information on India’s best aqua-men is available here.

Swapna Barman – After a lengthy injury layoff, Heptathlete Swapna Barman returned to competition and clinched bronze in high jump at the 56th National Athletics Championship in Lucknow. This marked an important achievement for Swapna who was using the competition to assess her recovery. More information on Swapna’s achievement is available here.

From L-R (Clockwise): Sathiyan after his historic victory in Belgium | Sandeep Sejwal (centre) with his gold medal | Supriya Mondal bagged a host of medals at the Senior Nationals in Ranchi | Bronze Medallist Swapna Barman returned with a bang at the National Athletics Championships