Trailblazing
javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra appealed to the nation to watch the ongoing Tokyo
Paralympics and support Indian athletes, saying it is crucial for the further development
of sports in the country.

India has
surpassed its best-ever performance at the Paralympics, with four medals on Monday taking its tally to seven at the Games so far. India
had won four medals at the 2016 Rio Paralympics as well as at the New York/Mandeville
Paralympics in 1984.

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“I was
watching the Paralympics, and we are performing very well. Avani won a gold,
Sumit also won gold with a world-record performance. Devendra bhaisahab, Sundar,
all our athletes are performing really well,” Chopra said in a video posted on
Twitter.

“(But) I feel
that we are not following it properly, so you please follow (the Paralympics), as
despite their situations, our athletes have gone there to compete for their
country and are winning medals,” he added.

“This is
very important for our sports, so I request you all to please support them and
watch the Paralympics, so that Indian sports can flourish,” Chopra, who won the
country’s first-ever Olympic gold medal in athletics, said.

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In six days
of the Paralympics so far, India has won as many medals as they won from 1988
to 2016 put together. The seven medals so far includes two gold, four silver
and one bronze medal.

19-year-old
shooter Avani Lekhara became the first Indian female to win a Paralympic gold,
finishing first in the women’s 10m Air Rifle SH1 event with a new Paralympic
record score of 249.6. This was followed by Yogesh Kathuniya winning silver in the discus throw F56 class. 

The other gold medal of the day was won by Sumit Antil, who broke his own world record thrice to finish first in the javelin throw F64 category with a best throw of 68.55m.

Devendra
Jhajharia, the most decorated Indian Paralympian, added a silver to his two Paralympic
gold medals in the F46 category, with Sundar Singh Gurjar winning bronze in the
same event.

On Sunday,
Bhavina Patel won India’s first medal, a silver in table tennis, with high
jumper Nishad Kumar bagging a silver in the T47 category.