Jaipur, November 28: Paralympian Avani Lekhara and Olympian Manu Bhaker praised India’s best-ever performance at the recently concluded 25th Summer Deaflympic Games held in Tokyo, Japan. India registered a historic tally of 20 medals, including 9 Gold, 7 Silver and 4 Bronze, finishing sixth among 62 participating nations.
Deaf shooters were the backbone of India’s impressive run, contributing 16 medals to the tally with 7 Gold, 6 Silver and 3 Bronze medals. Their consistency and dominance placed India firmly among the top shooting nations at the Games.
Double Paralympic gold medallist Avani Lekhara, who attended medal ceremonies at the ongoing Khelo India University Games (KIUG) in Jaipur, expressed her pride: “It’s really nice seeing India doing so good. Especially, we have seen a lot of medals coming up in shooting. I’m very happy and proud of them. I just want them to keep on doing this, and we also keep on supporting them as an audience so that they do better and better in upcoming years as well.”
Watch Avani Lekhara's reaction on Instagram
Several Indian shooters delivered multi-medal performances. Mahit Sandhu led the tally with four medals, followed by Pranjali and Abhinav Deshwal, who secured three medals each. Dhanush Srikanth also added two medals to India’s count.
PM Modi Congratulates India’s Deaflympians
The Hon’ble Prime Minister of India also lauded the nation’s Deaflympians for their exceptional achievements.
In a post on X, PM Modi wrote: “Heartiest congratulations to our Deaflympians for their extraordinary performance at the 25th Summer Deaflympics 2025 in Tokyo. With a historic best-ever medal tally of 20 medals including 9 Golds, our athletes have once again proven that determination and dedication can lead to outstanding results. Compliments to every athlete, coach and support staff. The entire nation is proud of you all!”
Manu Bhaker: “We Look Up to Them”
Double Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker, who began her journey by winning multiple medals in the Khelo India School Games in 2017, said she is personally inspired by the resilience and passion of specially-abled athletes.
“We ourselves get motivated when we watch specially-abled athletes performing so well in international competitions. It is their passion and their fighting spirit that inspires us. From my side I want to give my best wishes to each and every one of them and congratulate them for their amazing performances at the Deaflympics. We look up to you and if we can be of any help, we would love to help whenever needed,” she said.
See Manu Bhaker's message on Instagram
Grassroots Boost Through KIUG and Khelo India
Fresh off her gold medal in the women’s 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 category at the Khelo India Para Games 2025, Avani highlighted the role of government initiatives in nurturing young talent.
“Government of India and especially SAI is doing a really nice job because competitions like Khelo India University Games, especially for the athletes at grassroots level, it gives them massive motivation. It gives them a platform to showcase their talent and serves as a launching pad for them for performing well in international events. If we see a lot more competition coming up at grassroots level, we'll see more elite level athletes in the future,” Avani concluded.