India's Preeti Pal made history by becoming the first Indian woman track and field athlete to secure two medals at the Paralympics. She claimed the bronze in the 200m T35 category, achieving a personal best time of 30.01 seconds on Sunday.
Following the win, the 23-year-old paraathlete said, "Tried to give my best and I am happy that I won another medal. People trolled me after I won the medal in 100 m and that inspired me a lot to do better."
T35 classification is meant for athletes who have coordination impairments such as hypertonia, ataxia and athetosis.
On Friday, she had clinched India's first athletics medal in a Paralympics track event, winning a bronze in the women's T35 100m competition with a personal best time of 14.21 seconds.
Meanwhile, speaking to ANI after Preeti's remarkable achievement, her coach Satyanarayana described the victory as his "Guru Dakshina."
"This is Guru Dakshina for me. She is the first woman to win a medal in track at the Paralympics. This is an inspiration for other players. We are expecting 10-12 medals in athletics alone...," the coach said.
He expressed immense pride in his student's accomplishment.
With this medal, India has secured a total of six medals at the ongoing Paris Paralympics, with one gold, a silver, and four bronzes.
All the athletics medals India had won since the 1984 edition of the Paralympics have come from the field events.
This year, India has sent its largest Paralympics contingent ever, comprising 84 athletes across 12 sports, a testament to the country's expanding para-sports ecosystem. India's participation in the Paris 2024 Paralympics marks not only a significant increase in numbers but also in medal hopes, as the nation aims to surpass its previous achievements in Tokyo.
Tokyo 2020 was India's most successful Paralympic Games, with the country winning 19 medals, including five golds, eight silvers, and six bronzes.
(With inputs from agencies)
