Naveen Announces Rs 10 Lakh Each For Hangzhou-Bound Odisha Para Athletes

Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has announced a cash incentive of Rs 10 lakh each for the seven para athletes from Odisha who will represent the country in the Asian Para Games at Hangzhou (China) from October 22.

Champion para shuttler Pramod Bhagat will be spearheading the Odisha contingent. Bhagat, the reigning Paralympic gold-medallist, had won the para badminton mixed singles title and also bronze in men’s doubles in the previous edition of Asian Para Games in Jakarta five years ago.

The other Hangzhou-bound para athletes from Odisha are Jayanti Behera (athletics), Soundarya Kumar Pradhan (visually impaired chess), Rakhal Kumar Sethi, V Ramesh Rao, Prafulla Kumar Khandayatray and Pujaswini Nayak (wheelchair fencing).

“We are immensely proud of our para-athletes who have worked tirelessly to qualify for the prestigious Asian Para Games 2022 in Hangzhou, China. The para-athletes are a testimony to human spirit and determination. I wish the them and the entire India contingent the very best in their endeavour to bring laurels to the country,” Naveen said on Friday.