Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Ram Nath Kovind, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar on Sunday congratulated para athlete Vinod Kumar after winning silver medal in men's discus throw F52 at 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.
"India is rejoicing thanks to Vinod Kumar’s stupendous performance! Congratulations to him for the Bronze Medal. His hard work and determination is yielding outstanding results," the Prime Minister wrote on Twitter.
Kumar became the third para athlete to win a medal at the Paralympics in Tokyo after Nishad Kumar won silver in men's high jump T47 and para table tennis player Bhavinaben Patel who clinched a silver medal at the Tokyo Paralympics on Sunday.
Apart from PM Modi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi congratulating Vinod wrote, "Big day for sports in India- Vinod Kumar wins #Bronze in Men’s Discus Throw F52 setting a new Asian record. Congratulations! The whole country joins you in celebrating this achievement."
While, President Ram Nath Kovind, wrote, "Congratulations to Vinod Kumar for winning bronze at Paralympics. You have done India proud with your podium finish. I appreciate your grit and determination. May you scale greater heights of success."
Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar wrote, Another splendid performance on #NationalSportsDay. Congratulations Vinod Kumar for winning the Bronze Medal in the Men's Discus Throw - F52 at the #Paralympics in #Tokyo2020
Vinod Kumar took to sports in his late 30s and has now won a Paralympics medal at the age of 41. The 41-year-old BSF man, whose father fought in the 1971 Indo-Pak war, produced a best throw of 19.91m to finish third behind Piotr Kosewicz (20.02m) of Poland and Velimir Sandor (19.98m) of Croatia.
He injured his legs while training after joining the BSF, falling off a cliff in Leh that left him bed-ridden for close to a decade during which he lost both his parents.
The F52 classification is for athletes with impaired muscle power, restricted range of movement, limb deficiency or leg length difference, with athletes competing in seated position.
It also applies to cervical cord injury, spinal cord injury, amputation, and functional disorder.
Both Bhavinaben Patel and Nishad Kumar had earlier won a silver each in women's singles table tennis class 4 and men's T47 high jump events respectively on Sunday.
