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Former para javelin thrower turned Paralympics Committee of India president Devendra Jhajharia is confident of India para athletes putting up a good show at the upcoming Paris Paralympics 2024, starting from August 28.
Notably, Jhajharia won three Paralympic medals over 22 years as an athlete. He announced his retirement from the sport recently and took up the administrative role, becoming the new president of PCI.
While Jhajharia’s primary goal remains the Paralympics, he also has a long-term aspiration of elevating India’s stature on the global stage. Although he acknowledged the substantial progress made so far, there’s still much ground to cover.
“While my immediate goal is that India exceeds its performance from Tokyo at the Paris Paralympics, I also want India to get a reputation as a team to watch out for at the world level,” Devendra Jhajharia said as quoted by Sportstar.
Furthermore, Devendra Jhajharia is also contesting elections and was named by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as their candidate for Rajasthan’s Churu seat at the national elections.
Winning more than 10 medals at the World Championships is the immediate aim of Devendra Jhajharia
Currently, Devendra Jhajharia’s main aim in his new career is to improve the medal tally of Indian athletes at next week’s Para-athletics World Championships in Kobe, Japan.
Jhajharia is hoping that the 33-member strong Indian contingent to do well and gain confidence moving to the Paralympics. The Paris Paralympics will take place from August 28 to September 8.
“I have high expectations from the Indian team that’s going for the World Championships. I am very happy with the preparation and the spirit of the players going to Kobe,” he stated.
“We won 10 medals in the last edition and I can say with some certainty that we will win more than 10 medals this time. Once we do that it will give us the confidence to do even better at the Paris Paralympics,” he added.
Jhajharia believes he could have continued competing at the World level, but he decided it was time to step back and concentrate on his new career path.
