Paralympics 2021: Indian para-athletes from Haryana

Haryana is popularly known as one of the largest sporting states in India. With a large number of athletes coming out of the state in the recent past, Haryana has played a huge part in the growth of Indian sports.

A lot of it can be attributed to the sports-friendly culture and atmosphere amongst the youth of the state. From combat sports like wrestling to field sports like hockey, Haryana has been a constant supplier of world-class athletes on the international stage.

Interestingly, the states of Haryana and Punjab house about 4% of the Indian population. However, they comprised 40% of the Olympic squad that represented the nation at the recently concluded Tokyo Olympics.

The upcoming Paralympic Games at the same venue will have India's largest-ever Paralympics squad of 54 athletes participating across nine different sporting disciplines. It's no surprise that a large chunk of athletes are from Haryana alone. In fact, 17 athletes out of the selected 54 have their roots in Haryana.

Haryana's domination at the Tokyo Olympics 2021

Felicitation ceremony for Olympics athletes

A large chunk of the Indian athletes going the distance at the Tokyo Olympics 2021 had their roots from Haryana. Be it hockey or wrestling, the athletes put up a brilliant show at the grandest sporting stage.

Interestingly, all of India's 7 wrestlers who participated at the Olympics this year hail from the state of Haryana. To celebrate the performance of the athletes, the state Government showered 32 (all athletes included) of them with a sum total of INR 23 crore in cash at the felicitation ceremony.

Gold medalist Neeraj Chopra was given a cheque of INR 6 crore, while cash worth INR 4 crore and INR 2.5 crore were given to wrestlers Ravi Dahiya and Bajrang Punia for winning silver and bronze medals respectively. Hockey players Surender Kumar and Sumit were also given cheques worth INR 2.5 crore each.

List of Haryana athletes participating at the Tokyo Paralympics 2021

This year, 17 para-athletes from Haryana will represent India at the Paralympic games. Here's the list of the selected athletes:

Sumit, Amit Kumar Saroha, Dharambir, Ram Pal, Yogesh Kathuniya, Ranjeet Bhati, Tek Chand, Simran, Bhagyashri Jadhav, Ekta Bhyan, Kashish Lakra, Sandi Sanjay Sagar, Jaideep Deswal, Manish Narwal, Singhraj, Avani Lekhara, Rahul Jakhar