Special Olympics 2023: Indian contingent passes 50-medal mark

Berlin: The Indian contingent at the Special Olympics World Games 2023, passed the 50-medal mark on Wednesday in Berlin. India has so far won 55 medals spread across five different sports – athletics, cycling, swimming, powerlifting, and roller skating. The 55 medals includes 15 gold, 27 silver, and 13 bronze medals.

The medal rush came from the swimming and cycling course, with India registering five medals in the pool including 3 golds, 1 silver, and, 1 bronze and six on the cycling course, 3 gold, 2 silver, and one bronze. On Wednesday, every member of the Indian cycling team won a medal to bring back home.

Neel Yadav was the first to win the bronze in the 5km road race. Shivani, Neel Yadav, and Indu Prakash won golds in the 1km Time trial, while Kalpana Jena and Jeyaseela Arbutharaj took home the silver.

In the pool, India’s medals are almost doubled. Diksha Jitendra Shirgaonkar, Pooja Giridharrao Gaikavada, and Prashaddhi Kamble won golds, while Madhav Madan added another medal to his tally (gold, 25m freestyle) and Sidhanth Murali Kumar won the bronze in the 25m freestyle.

Saket Kundu won silver in the mini Javelin Level B. The Little Angels School student is a multi-sport athlete, who has competed in table tennis, figure skating, and athletics at the National level.