Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Friday felicitated para badminton players who won medals at the recent Tokyo Paralympics.
He congratulated them on their spectacular performance in Tokyo. Patnaik felicitated Deepa Malik (President Paralympic Committee of India) , Prabhakar Rao (Chairman, Para-badminton India), Gaurav Khanna - Head Coach, Para Badminton Indian team, Shiba Prasad Das - Head Coach, Odisha Para badminton, Pramod Bhagat Tokyo Paralympics Gold medalist, Krishna Nagar - Tokyo Paralympics Gold medalist, Manoj Sarkar - Tokyo Paralympics Bronze medalist, Tarun Dhillion Paralympian, Parul Parmar Paralympian, Palak Kholi Paralympian.
Deepa Malik thanked the chief minister for his initiatives for development of sports in the country. She lauded Odisha as a model for sports development and for the support of the state towards the sportspersons and para-sports persons.
Bhubaneswar is hosting the 4th National Para-badminton championships from December 24th to 26th. More than 400 para-badminton players from across the country are participating in this event, which is the largest so far in this field.
Malik and the Para-olympians praised the government and the state association for making such good arrangements for the comfort of the para-badminton players.