National Para sports Event Concludes with Felicitation of Medal-Winning Athletes

 Hyderabad: Children with special needs deserve special care and integration to become independent and productive citizens of the country, said Shobu Yarlagadda, CEO of Arka Media, the producer of the film Baahubali.

He was speaking while presiding as the chief guest at the concluding ceremony of the 8th National Parasports Talent Identification Hunt & Training Camp, organised by Aditya Mehta Foundation (AMF), a nonprofit organisation that aids people with disabilities to pursue sports while providing self-sustenance and Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti, at JNV Ranga Reddy Campus, Gachibowli.

Yarlagadda, trustee of AMF, felicitated the paracyclists who brought laurels to the country by winning medals at the recently held Asian Paracycling Championship 2024 in Kazakhstan.

World No. 2 Jyoti Gaderiya won a gold, World No. 5 Arshad Shaikh won the silver and hand cyclist Yogesh Ahire won the bronze medal. Arshad and Jyoti have since qualified for the Paralympics, marking India’s first-ever qualification in paracycling for the Paralympics.

Additionally, Pavani Banoth, a 15-year-old from JNV, who competed in the mixed category with seniors and won a bronze medal at the Para Shooting World Cup, was also felicitated.

The camp saw enthusiastic participation from 181 children selected from Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas across India, selected after medically screening over 800 participants in the first round.