Union Sports Minister Anurag Singh Thakur today felicitated athletes from the Asian Games who returned to India post finishing their competitions. The event was held at the Constitution Club of India in New Delhi.

A total of 27 athletes from Shooting, Rowing, and Women's Cricket teams were felicitated by the Minister. The Women’s Cricket team, led by Harmanpreet Kaur, clinched a historic gold at the event, while a total of 5 medals (2 silver, 3 bronze) were won from Rowing. Most of the medals so far have come from Shooting, with our rifle, shotgun and pistol teams bagging 13 medals (4 Gold, 4 Silver & 5 Bronze).

The  Minister congratulated the athletes on their outstanding performances at the Asian Games. “I congratulate all the athletes and coaches. These feats have taken them years of toil. You might find some of the regions these history-making rowers belong from may have shortage of water, but they have bagged medals in a water sports event. We also got historic gold in Equestrian,” the Minister said.

“In Shooting we saw our spirit and resilience. From TOPS Athlete Sift Kaur Samra, who not only won Gold but also registered a world record score in the women’s 50m rifle 3P event to Khelo India Athlete Ruddranksh Patil, who won gold at the 10m air rifle, all of our shooters did exceptionally well,” added Shri Thakur.

The event on Thursday was attended by officials from the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Sports Authority of India as well as by the families and friends of the athletes.

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PPG/SK