Indian rifle shooter and Paralympics double gold medalist Avani Lekhara, IAS officer and para-badminton silver medalist Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj, and boxer and Olympic bronze medalist Mary Kom interacted with the students as they appeared on the eighth edition of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Pariksha Pe Charcha’ programme on Monday. “Consistency matters a lot. If you study daily with complete focus, you will be able to retain it. There are breathing exercises that help you maintain your heart rate and keep you calm,” Avani Lekhara said as quoted by DD. Further, the Paris Paralympics silver medallist Suhas Yathiraj encouraged the children to work hard in whichever field they are interested in.

“You should first ask yourself if you can achieve the top 5 per cent of whichever field you choose. Second thing, do you have the passion to pursue it? And if your heart says yes to it, then your parents will also agree to it,” Suhas said.

In the end, former boxing champion MC Mary Kom said that one should be strong if he/she wants to take up the challenges.

“If you want to take up challenges, you must be strong enough…I became a champion after facing many challenges. If I can do it, then why can’t you?” Mary Kom said.

The ‘Pariksha Pe Charcha’ episode was broadcast across platforms, including on the Prime Minister and PMO’s X profile and the PM’s YouTube Channel.

Since 2018, PM Modi has been hosting this annual event to interact with students, teachers, and parents, offering guidance on staying stress-free during exams. The event is organized by the Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education.

The first three editions of PPC were held in New Delhi in a town hall interactive format. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the fourth edition was held online in the form of a program telecast on Doordarshan and all major TV channels.

The fifth, sixth and seventh editions of PPC were again held in town-hall format at Talkatora Stadium, New Delhi.

Sweden’s government said Wednesday it would boost security at schools after the country’s worst mass shooting left 10 dead, giving teachers the right to search students’ bags among other measures.

Schools will be required to have emergency plans for violent situations, access to schools will require keys, door codes or badges, and authorisations for camera surveillance will be simplified, Education Minister Johan Pehrson told a press conference.

Teachers and staff will be authorised to search students’ bags without warning at primary and secondary schools and adult education centres.

“We are working intensively to improve security for students, teachers and other school employees,” Pehrson said.

If adopted by parliament as expected, the new measures would enter into force on July 1, 2025.

On February 4, 35-year-old Rickard Andersson entered the Campus Risbergska adult education centre in Orebro and killed 10 people before apparently turning his gun on himself.

Officers found three weapons, shell casings and unused ammunition next to his body.

Andersson, whom police described as an unemployed recluse with no prior criminal record, had a hunting permit that licensed him to own four weapons.

He had lived isolated in his apartment since 2016, “with little contact with other people”, police said.

Police are still trying to establish a clear motive for the shooting.

Andersson had been enrolled at Campus Risbergska in the past but not attended classes since 2021.

Three days after the shooting, the government announced it would amend weapon laws and restrict access to semi-automatic guns.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Manu Bhaker and D Gukesh provided a sprinkling of stardust but it was the para-athletes who walked away with the most boisterous applause when President Droupadi Murmu bestowed the National Sports Awards in a regal ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Friday. Double Olympic-medallist Bhaker, 18-year-old chess world champion Gukesh, men’s hockey captain Harmanpreet Singh and Paralympic gold-winning high jumper Praveen Kumar were presented the country’s highest sporting honour — the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna.

The 22-year-old Bhaker became independent India’s first athlete to win two medals in a single edition of the Olympics with her bronze-winning show in the 10m air pistol individual and 10m air pistol mixed team events in August last year.

Harmanpreet was a part of the national sides that won bronze medals in the Tokyo as well as Paris Olympics. Praveen, on the other hand, upgraded his silver at the Japanese capital to a gold in Paris. He was born with a short left leg.

The 18-year-old Gukesh was crowned the youngest ever chess world champion after he beat China’s Ding Liren last month. He is only the second Indian after the great Viswanathan Anand to achieve this title.

He was also a crucial factor in India winning the men’s gold in the Chess Olympiad in September last.

Thirty-two athletes were honoured with the Arjuna Award out of which an unprecedented 17 were para-athletes.

The athletes selected for the Arjuna award included Paris Olympics bronze medal-winning group of wrestler Aman Sehrawat, shooters Swapnil Kusale and Sarabjot Singh (Bhaker’s partner in the 10m air pistol mixed competition of Olympics) and the men’s hockey team players Jarmanpreet Singh, Sukhjeet Singh, Sanjay and Abhishek.

The para-athletes outnumbered the able-bodied ones in the list this time due to the magnificent Paris Paralympics performance in which they returned with 29 medals, including seven gold and nine silver.

President Murmu repeatedly broke from tradition to receive some wheelchair-bound athletes such as Pranav Soorma, who got the Arjuna for his Paralympic silver in club throw.

Petkar draws loudest applause

The most heartwarming moment of the ceremony was when India’s first Paralympic gold-medallist Murlikant Petkar walked up to the President on crutches to receive the Arjuna award (lifetime).

The 80-year-old war hero, who was disabled waist down due to bullet wounds sustained during the 1965 battle against Pakistan, was originally a boxer but turned to para-swimming. He persevered to win a historic gold medal in the 1972 Paralympics in Heidelberg.

The veteran was welcomed with a rapturous applause that did not stop till he was seated back after collecting the award from the President.

One among those clapping for him at the Durbar Hall was actor Kartik Aryan, who played Petkar in a recent biopic titled ‘Chandu Champion’.

Dignitaries, including sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya, parliamentary and minority affairs minister Kiren Rijuju, sports secretary Sujata Chaturvedi, were among those who attended the ceremony that lasted a little over an hour.

While the Khel Ratna comes with a cash prize of Rs 25 lakh, the Arjuna and Dronacharya awards include a cash prize of Rs 15 lakh.

The Arjuna Awards are given to sportspersons who have demonstrated good performance over the past four years and have shown qualities of leadership, sportsmanship, and discipline.

The annual honours are decided by a points system in which the maximum emphasis is on performances delivered at the Olympics and the World Championships.

The award-winners (2024 awards):

Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award: D Gukesh (Chess),Harmanpreet Singh (Hockey), Praveen Kumar (Para-Athletics), Manu Bhaker (Shooting).

Arjuna Awards: Jyothi Yarraji (Athletics), Annu Rani (Athletics), Nitu (Boxing), Saweety (Boxing), Vantika Agrawal (Chess), Salima Tete (Hockey), Abhishek (Hockey), Sanjay (Hockey), Jarmanpreet Singh (Hockey), Sukhjeet Singh (Hockey), Rakesh Kumar (Para-Archery), Preeti Pal (Para-Athletics), Jeevanji Deepthi (Para-Athletics), Ajeet Singh (Para-Athletics), Sachin Sarjerao Khilari (Para-Athletics), Dharambir (Para-Athletics), Pranav Soorma (Para-Athletics), H Hokato Sema (Para-Athletics), Simran (Para-Athletics), Navdeep (Para-Athletics), Nitesh Kumar (Para-Badminton), Thulasimathi Murugesan (Para-Badminton), Nithya Sre Sumathy Sivan (Para-Badminton), Manisha Ramadass (Para-Badminton), Kapil Parmar (Para-Judo), Mona Agarwal (Para-Shooting), Rubina Francis (Para-Shooting), Swapnil Suresh Kusale (Shooting), Sarabjot Singh (Shooting), Abhay Singh (Squash), Sajan Prakash (Swimming), Aman (Wrestling).

Arjuna Awards (Lifetime): Sucha Singh (Athletics), Murlikant Rajaram Petkar (Para-Swimming).

Dronacharya Award: Subhash Rana (Para-Shooting), Deepali Deshpande (Shooting), Sandeep Sangwan (Hockey, S Muralidharan (Badminton), Armando Agnelo Colaco (Football) Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar: Physical Education Foundation of India Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy for top-performing university in the Khelo India University Games: Chandigarh University, Lovely Professional University and Guru Nanak Dev University.

Shooter Manu Bhaker opened India’s medal tally at the Paris 2024 Olympics, making history by securing third place in the women’s individual 10m air pistol event. She became the first-ever woman shooter from India to win an Olympic medal, adding a significant milestone to her already illustrious career. In Paris, Bhaker secured two bronze medals in the shooting events, becoming the first Indian athlete in the post-independence era to achieve this feat in a single edition of the Olympics. This remarkable accomplishment was held by Norman Pritchard, who won two medals at the 1900 Paris Games.

Bhaker, alongside Sarabjot Singh, clinched her second bronze in the 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team event. The duo displayed exceptional consistency, defeating South Korea’s Lee Wonho and Oh Ye Jin with a score of 16-10 in the bronze medal play-off match. Their victory marked India’s first-ever shooting team medal at the Olympics.

Despite narrowly missing out on a historic treble by finishing fourth in the women’s 25m pistol event, Bhaker’s achievements in Paris cement her status as the most successful Indian woman shooter in history. Her career is already decorated with gold medals from the World Championships, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, and Youth Olympic Games.

This success comes after the heartbreak of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, where a pistol malfunction denied Bhaker a shot at a medal in the same event. Her resilience and determination have now propelled her to the pinnacle of Indian shooting sports.

Born on February 18, 2002, in Jhajjar, Haryana, Bhaker initially pursued a variety of sports, including tennis, skating, and boxing. She also excelled in ‘thang ta’, a form of martial arts, winning medals at the national level before dedicating herself to shooting.

India’s overall performance at the Paris 2024 Olympics was commendable, securing a total of six medals–one silver and five bronze. Swapnil Kusale contributed to the tally with a bronze medal in the men’s 50m rifle 3 positions event. The Indian men’s hockey team added to the medal count by winning back-to-back bronze medals for the first time in 52 years, defeating Spain 2-1.

In track and field, javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra narrowly missed defending his Tokyo gold medal, but he brought home a silver with a throw of 89.45m. Wrestler Aman Sehrawat, making his Olympic debut, clinched a bronze medal with a 13-5 victory over Puerto Rico’s Darian Cruz.

India’s impressive haul at the Paris 2024 Olympics underscores the country’s growing prowess in a diverse range of sports, setting a promising precedent for future competitions.

Shooters at ISSF Junior World Championship.© SAI

Indian Olympic Association Treasurer Sahdev Yadav on Tuesday hit back at president PT Usha for claiming that IOA Executive Committee members were not agreeing on a proposal to felicitate Paris Olympics medal-winners, saying her assertion is a “blatant lie”. Usha on Monday said that it was “deeply concerning” that the EC members failed to honour Olympic medallists and accused the Finance Committee of blocking funds intended to support Indian athletes’ preparation for the Paris Games.

In a rebuttal to Usha’s claims, Sahdev said, “… there has been no discussion with EC members nor any official proposal in writing for organizing a felicitation ceremony for the medallists of Paris Olympics 2024.” Sahdev, who is also the president of the Indian Weightlifting Federation, accused Usha of “spreading lies” and “cooking up” things instead of taking responsibilities as per the IOA constitution.

“…we fail to understand why IOA President is spreading lies across the whole country, to put down the EC members, which does not have any proof nor hold any genuine ground,” he said.

“… her repeated efforts and proposals are nothing but blatant lies which has been cooked by the President every now and then and shedding crocodile tears in front of the media.” India secured six medals in the Paris Olympics, including two historic bronze finishes by young shooter Manu Bhaker, but Usha on Monday said the “EC does not want to celebrate their success” and it makes her “very sad.” “These athletes have made the nation proud, and it is the responsibility of the IOA to celebrate their achievements with the respect they deserve.

“It is deeply concerning that, even after returning home in mid-August, the EC has failed to discuss or take any steps towards organizing a formal felicitation ceremony,” she had said in a statement.

She had also revealed that a proposal for a preparatory grant of Rs two lakh for each Olympic-bound athlete and Rs one lakh for each coach had been blocked by the Finance Committee, notably by Sahdev.

Reacting to this, Sadev said, “This is for the information of everyone that any proposal recommended and approved by the EC members and finance committee has been paid without any delay by Mr Sahdev Yadav, Treasurer of IOA.” The internal feud within the IOA has been on since the appointment of Raghuram Iyer as its CEO on January 5. Iyer has Usha’s backing while the EC members are unanimous in demanding his removal.

The bone of contention has been his salary of Rs 20 lakh per month, along with perks.

On September 26, an EC meeting was called to resolve the issue on the insistence of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) but the deadlock remained.

On Saturday, the 12 EC members sent a letter to senior International Olympic Committee (IOC) official Jerome Poivey, accusing Usha of running the organisation in an “autocratic” manner after she rejected their demand to remove Iyer as IOA CEO during the contentious meeting.

Usha had called the accusations “malicious and false,” asserting that they were aimed at undermining her leadership and the efforts to improve Indian sports.

File image of Manu Bhaker.© AFP

File photo of Manu Bhaker.© AFP

Manu Bhaker at NDTV Yuva Conclave.

Rhythm Sangwan will be the only Indian shooter to compete in two events in the season-ending ISSF World Cup Final here after double Olympic-medallist Manu Bhaker opted for a three-month rest following her exploits in the Paris Games. The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) on Thursday announced a 23-member Indian squad for the tournament that will be held across rifle, pistol and shotgun categories from October 13 to 18 at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range.

The squad features nine members from the Paris Olympics team which returned with three bronze medals.

A total of 11 Indian Olympians will gun for the title of the best shooter of the year along with the world’s best in 12 individual Olympic events.

The 22-year-old Bhaker scripted history for India in Paris as she won a bronze each in the women’s 10m air pistol and 10m air pistol mixed team event (paired with Sarabjot Singh in the latter), and the Indian shooters participating in the prestigious tournament in the national capital will look to carry on the momentum at the familiar range.

“We have a strong squad of proven performers for the ISSF year-ender and look forward to a strong performance. Expectations from the sport have reached sky-high after the Paris performance…,” said Sultan Singh, secretary general, NRAI.

Four shooters — Divyansh Singh Panwar (men’s 10m air rifle), Sonam Uttam Maskar (women’s 10m air rifle), Rhythm (women’s 10m air pistol & 25m pistol) and Ganemat Sekhon (women’s skeet) have been selected by ISSF directly, while the rest of the members have been picked on the basis of their Olympic trials rankings.

The 20-year-old Rhythm will have Surbhi Rao for company in the women’s 10m air pistol competition.

Seasoned shooters and Olympians Mairaj Ahmed Khan (men’s skeet) and Chain Singh (men’s 50m rifle 3 positions) have returned to the team.

Besides Rhythm, the other Paris Olympians in the squad include Arjun Babuta (men’s 10m air rifle), Arjun Singh Cheema (men’s 10m air pistol), Anish and Vijayveer Sidhu (men’s 25m rapid-fire pistol), Shreyasi Singh and Rajeshwari Kumari (women’s trap), Maheshwari Chauhan (women’s skeet) and Anant Jeet Singh Naruka (men’s skeet).

The Indian squad:

Air Rifle Men: Divyansh Singh Panwar, Arjun Babuta

Air Rifle Women: Sonam Uttam Maskar, Tilottama Sen

50M Rifle 3P Men: Chain Singh, Akhil Sheoran

50M Rifle 3P Women: Ashi Chouksey, Nischal

Air Pistol Men: Arjun Singh Cheema, Varun Tomar

Air Pistol Women: Rhythm Sangwan, Surbhi Rao

25M Rapid Fire Pistol Men: Anish, Vijayveer Sidhu

25M Sports Pistol Women: Rhythm Sangwan, Simranpreet Kaur Brar

Trap Men: Vivaan Kapoor, Bhowneesh Mendiratta

Trap Women: Rajeshwari Kumari, Shreyasi Singh

Skeet Men: Anantjeet Singh Naruka, Mairaj Ahmad Khan

Skeet Women: Ganemat Sekhon, Maheshwari Chauhan.