Paralympics 2024: Shot-putter Hokato Sema celebrates after a good throw.© Twitter

Paris 2024 Paralympics Day 6 Live Updates© X (Twitter)

Paris 2024 Paralympics Day 4 LIVE Updates© X (Twitter)

Vinesh Phogat at the Paris Olympics 2024© AFP

Vinesh Phogat on Saturday received a grand welcome on her return to the country and after being feted by several supporters and ‘khap panchayats’ en route to her village Balali, the celebrated wrestler said it was better than winning 1000 Olympic medals. Hundreds of supporters gathered outside the IGI airport here and welcomed Vinesh to the beats of ‘dhol’ when she made her way out with husband Somvir Rathi and Congress MP Deepender Hooda around 10:30am. Fellow wrestlers Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik and panchayat leaders received Vinesh, who endured a heartbreaking exit at the Paris Olympics where she was disqualified for being overweight by 100 grams on the day of her 50kg final.

Heavily garlanded, Vinesh stood in an open Jeep and thanked all the supporters. Hooda accompanied Vinesh and offered her sweets.

VIDEO | Wrestler Vinesh Phogat (@Phogat_Vinesh) receives a rousing welcome upon her arrival at her native village in Charkhi Dadri, Haryana. pic.twitter.com/v3jEHeSp7f

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 17, 2024

There was a thick security cover around Vinesh.

Her caravan left for her native village Balali in Haryana and on the way she met her supporters who were stationed at different spots.

Hooda presented a mace, a ‘symbol of victory’ to Vinesh, who got emotional and was consoled by Somvir.

In a series of posts on social media, Hooda praised the 29-year-old Vinesh for her fighting spirit.

“In our eyes, you have been a winner in the past and will remain so in the future too. Your courage, struggle and determination have not only won the hearts of crores of countrymen but you are an inspiration to crores of youth of the country,” read one of his tweets.

A group of around 50 supporters followed her jeep. They offered prayers at a temple in Delhi’s Dwarka before continuing their journey towards Balali.

Vinesh had stayed back in Paris after challenging her disqualification in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and demanding a joint silver. The application was dismissed on Wednesday.

“She has come back to her country after such a long time. She is very emotional also. She will spend time with family and calm herself. What Vinesh has done for women is praiseworthy. She might not have received a medal, but she is a champion for us,” said Sakshi Malik.

Vinesh’s caravan covered the distance of 135 kilometres from Delhi to Balali in about 12 hours as she was honoured by panchayats on the way.

They stopped at various spots, including Dhankot, Badli, Jahajgarh, Loharwada, Ghasoula, and Mandoula.

“So what if they didn’t give me the gold medal, but people here have given me that. The love and the respect that I have received is more than winning 1,000 Olympic gold medals,” Vinesh said in Badli, acknowledging the tremendous support.

Echoing the sentiment, Bajrang Punia said, “I told Vinesh that the love and respect she has received now is more than what she would have received after winning a gold medal. I want to thank the people of the entire nation.” “I thank Manraj ji from Gulia khap who said that Vinesh is a diamond, and if there is something more valuable than diamond, then she is that.” London Olympics bronze medal-winning shooter Gagan Narang, who was the Chef de Mission of the Indian contingent in Paris, called her a champion, posting a photo with Vinesh at the Paris airport. Both of them were on the same flight to Delhi.

“She came as a champion on day 1 into the games village and she will always remain our champion. Sometimes one doesn’t need an Olympic medal to inspire a billion dreams.. @vineshphogat you have inspired generations. Salute to your grit,” Narang posted on X.

“People are waiting to welcome her to our village. People are excited to meet Vinesh and encourage her,” her brother Harvinder Phogat said.

Vinesh’s mother Premlata said they were hoping for a gold medal this time after suffering heartbreaks in the previous two editions.

“She fought well. Entire village is waiting for her,” she said.

The feisty wrestler, in her first reaction after her disqualification, on Saturday said that under “different circumstances” she could see herself competing till 2032 because she still has a lot of wrestling left in her, but is now unsure about her future as things “might never be same again”.

Vinesh had announced her retirement from the sport after her disqualification.

In an emotional post on social media, Vinesh shared her childhood dream, the hardships she faced after losing her father, and also put on record the contribution made by people in her extraordinary journey.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met retired India hockey player PR Sreejesh and his family at his residence on Independence Day. A video of the meeting is going viral on social media in which PM Modi could be seen having a quality time with the family. In the same clip, the PM asks Sreejesh’s son Sreeansh “ye maarta hai (Does he hit you)?” after pointing towards the retired hockey star. The boy nodded in reply, leaving everyone in splits. Later in the video, the PM was seen offering sweet to the kid.

Watch it here:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi meeting PR Sreejesh & his family after the historic Bronze medal at Paris Olympics pic.twitter.com/oV98ELbgW8

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) August 16, 2024

Indian hockey’s goalkeeping stalwart Sreejesh, who was given a grand welcome on his arrival at the international airport in Kochi, said he will be spending the next 2-3 months to mentally prepare himself to transition from a player to a coach.

With regard to the enthusiastic welcome given to him, including a roadshow from the airport to Palarivattom, he said it was like the “cherry on top of the cake”.

“Working hard for the country, sacrificing a lot and then winning a medal, it is not just for me, but for the country. So, to be a part of this happiness, the welcome organised by everyone, is like the cherry on top of the cake. The pleasure is doubled,” he said, speaking to reporters outside the airport.

Regarding the next step of his career, Sreejesh said that he knows what he has to do as a player.

“But, as a coach, what all I should do or the transition from a player to a coach, I have to mentally prepare for that. So, I will spend the next 2-3 months on that,” he said.

A big crowd, including several MLAs, welcomed Sreejesh at the airport.

People holding up placards with his photo cheered him on as he came out of the airport.

Thereafter, the hockey player held a roadshow from the airport in an open-top jeep.

Along the route of his roadshow, people waved and cheered him on, some handed him flowers and bouquets and others walked up to his vehicle to shake his hand and congratulate him, according to visuals shown on TV channels.

Sreejesh bid adieu to the game following his starring role in the country’s second consecutive Olympic bronze at the just-concluded Paris Games.

He is now going to be the team coach of the junior Indian hockey team.

(With PTI Inputs)

Lakshya Sen revealed how his phone was taken away by strict coach Prakash Padukone, hockey captain Harmanpreet Singh talked about his team’s thrilling run while everyone shared a good laugh on the air conditioning struggles in Paris when Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted a reception for the Indian contingent after its fairly decent Olympic campaign. The Prime Minister hosted the contingent after the Independence Day celebrations at Red Fort, where too the athletes were in attendance on Thursday. The video of the interaction was shared by Modi and the athletes could be seen having one-on-one chats with the PM.

In one such conversation with Lakshya, who finished fourth in the men’s singles badminton competition, Modi said: “When I met Lakshya for the first time, he was very small but now he has grown up. Do you know, this time you have become a celebrity? To this, Lakshya replied: “Yes sir. But during matches Prakash Sir took my phone and told me till the matches are over, you won’t get your phone. But after that I got to know the support I got.

“It was a learning experience and little heart-breaking as well because I came so close,” said the 22-year-old who lost from a position of strength in the bronze playoff.

A laughing Modi instantly said: “Prakash Sir was so disciplined and strict, I will send him the next time as well.” The Paris Olympics were promoted as eco-friendly Games. So, there were no air conditioners in any rooms in the Games village, forcing the sports ministry to dispatch 40 portable ACs on an urgent basis for their comfortable stay.

A laughing Modi asked all the athletes who all cursed him for the situation, to which no one replied.

“There were no ACs and it was hot as well, so I want to know which of you cried first saying ‘Modi speaks big but there are no ACs in rooms so what should we do’,” Modi said.

“Who all are there who faced most difficulties? But when I learnt that, within a few hours that work also was done. See how we try to provide you the best of facilities?” the Prime Minister added.

Paris didn’t gave ACs to olympic players. You must have thought what Modi has done but as soon as I came to know, ACs were arranged for each and every player within hours pic.twitter.com/ILPGnGLTVT

— (@kanchandwivedi3) August 16, 2024

Modi also had a light-hearted chat with Harmanpreet, who opened up on how the team fought back after being down to 10 men for more than 40 minutes in the quarterfinal against Great Britain.

“Just tell me when you to fight with 10-men against Britain, you must have been demoralised from the start, Sarpanch saab, please tell, it was very difficult,” Modi asked the India captain, addressing him with his nickname.

Harmanpreet replied: “Yes Sir, it was very difficult because we got the red card in the first quarter but our coaching staff helped us a lot. We visualised every situation because in Olympics anything can happen. The motivation of the team also increased because we have a rivalry with GB (Britain).” Modi interrupted and laughingly said: “It has been going on for the last 150 years.” Harmanpreet said: “We fought and ended the match 1-1 and won it in shoot-out. It never ever happened in Olympics history (playing with 10 men for 42 minutes and then winning).”

Paris Olympics launch-pad for Indian sports’ rise

Modi believes the just-concluded Paris Olympics is going to be a turning point for India. The 117-member Indian contingent returned with six medals, including one silver and five bronze. The count was one less than Tokyo and there was no gold in the tally this time.

But Modi appreciated the efforts of all athletes who represented the country and said their inputs will help in successfully getting the hosting rights of the 2036 Games.

“Those who have returned after losing, please get this out of your mind. You made the country proud and came back after learning something. Sports is one area where no one loses, everybody learns,” Modi said.

“I believe Paris Olympics will be a launch-pad for the rise of Indian sports. This is going to be our turning point. After that there will only be wins. We are not going to stop,” the Prime Minister added.

The Prime Minister termed the athletes as “India’s soldiers of 2036 Olympics”.

“India is preparing to host the 2036 Olympics. In this case many athletes who played in the Olympics, their inputs are very important. You might have observed many things there, from Olympics planning to all facilities, from sports management to event management,” Modi said.

“Your experiences, your observations, we need to write them down, so in 2036 Olympics all the little things and experiences of yours will help us in preparing for the Games. In one way you are soldiers of 2036 Olympics,” he added.

Rachael “Raygun” Gunn, an Australian woman breakdancer at Paris Olympics 2024, has become a subject of intense social media chatter over her performance at the Games. She was ridiculed on the internet for her unique Paris Olympics routine, triggering memes and jokes from fans all across the globe. Raygun’s breaking performance, featuring one move compared to a kangaroo hopping, lost all three of her match-ups against rival dancers, or B-Girls. After receving a lot of backlash, Gunn has now hit back at her critics and asked the media to stop harassing her and her loved ones in a video she posted on social media.

“Hi everyone, Raygun here. I just want to start by thanking all the people who have supported me, I really appreciate the positivity and I’m glad I was able to bring some joy into your lives, that’s what I hoped,” 36-year-old Gunn said in a video on Instagram.

“I didn’t realize that that would also open the door to so much hate, which has frankly been pretty devastating. While I went out there and I had fun, I did take it very seriously. I worked my butt off preparing for the Olympics and I gave my all, truly. I’m honored to have been a part of the Australian Olympic team and to be part of breaking’s Olympic debut. What the other athletes have achieved has just been phenomenal,” she added.

Taking a jibe at those who questioned her selection for the event in Paris, Gunn said, “I’d like to ask everyone to please refer to the recent statement made by the AOC, as well as the posts on the Ausbreaking Instagram page, as well as the WDSF Breaking for Gold page.”

“Bit of a fun fact for you, there are actually no points in breaking. If you want to see how the judges thought I compared to my opponents, you can actually see the comparison percentages across the five criteria on Olympics.com.”

While revealing that she will be in Europe for few weeks to enjoy some “pre-planned downtime”, Gunn asked the media to “stop harassing” her family, her friends and the Australian breaking community, among others.

“Everyone has been through a lot as a result of this so I ask you to please respect their privacy,” said the 36-year-old Sydney university lecturer.

“I’ll be happy to answer more questions on my return to Australia.”

Meanwhile, the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) has issued a strong condemnation of an online petition that criticised the selection of Gunn for the Paris Olympics.

The petition, which has amassed over 45,000 signatures, demands an apology from Gunn and Australia’s Olympic Chef de Mission, Anna Meares, and alleged that Gunn’s selection was flawed.

AOC chief executive officer Matt Carroll said the petition contains numerous falsehoods designed to engender hatred against an athlete who was selected in the Australian Olympic Team through a transparent and independent qualification event and nomination process.

“It is disgraceful that these falsehoods concocted by an anonymous person can be published in this way. It amounts to bullying and harassment and is defamatory. We are demanding that it be removed from the site immediately,” Carroll said.

“The petition has stirred up public hatred without any factual basis. It’s appalling. No athlete who has represented their country at the Olympic Games should be treated in this way and we are supporting Dr Gunn and Anna Meares at this time,” he added.

(With IANS Inputs)

Screengrab of PM Narendra Modi with shooter Manu Bhaker.© YouTube/@Narendra Modi