Indian athletes pick up 46 medals on day one of Special Olympic games

India’s athletes picked up medals by the truckload in the Special Olympics Asia Pacific Games in Newcastle, Australia as the event kicked off yesterday. The Indian contingent bagged 11 gold, 19 silver and 16 bronze with Surjit Singh of Bihar opening India’s account with a silver in the athletics domain.

Overall, India picked up 12 medals from athletics, 15 from aquatics and 19 by the badminton players.

The rich haul after just the first day augurs well for India with the games scheduled to go on till December 7 across nine disciplines.

India has sent a 520 strong contingent to Australia, which included athletes, coaches and staff, from over 21 states in the country.

The event is being organized by Special Olympics, an organization that working towards constantly improving the lives of people with intellectual disabilities through sport, health and education.

These games are the first of their kind.