‘Our Female Athletes Have Reached The Pinnacle of Success’: Nita Ambani Lauds Indian Athletes on Their Unparalleled Success – News18

Reliance Foundation founder and chairperson Nita Ambani, who is also an IOC member, honoured India’s Olympic and Paralympic athletes and spoke about the transformational power of sport on Sunday.

Nita Ambani invited about 140 athletes who participated in the Olympic and Paralympic Games at her residence in honour of the athletes.

The event has been named ‘United in Triumph’ and was the first time that the stars representing India at the Olympics and Paralympics will gather on one platform.

Athletes across disciplines were honored for their hard work, passion, and the profound impact they’ve had in bringing India to the global forefront in both the Olympics and Paralympics.

Mrs Ambani took to the stage and elaborated on the power of sport in bringing about change, whilst hailing the contribution of India’s female athletes to the country’s Olympic successes.

“Their (female athletes) successes are even more special because of the difficulties women face in pursuing professional sport. Not just economic challenges, even getting permission from their families, or finding facilities to train, access to physios and rehab centres, or simply how far they have to travel from their villages to reach a coach. It’s a long and difficult journey for girls to get recognized in sports. And despite that, our female athletes have reached the pinnacle of success. They are sending out a strong message to the little girls who are watching – a message that they are unstoppable and that nothing is impossible for them,” stated Mrs Ambani.

Among the attendees were Olympic and Paralympic medalists such as Neeraj Chopra, Manu Bhaker, and Murlikant Petkar, India’s first-ever Paralympic gold medalist.

Also present were Devendra Jhajharia, the first Indian to win two Paralympic gold medals and the President of the Paralympic Committee of India, alongside Sumit Antil, Nitesh Kumar, Harvinder Singh, Dharambir Nain, Navdeep Singh, and Praveen Kumar, who all secured gold at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.

Their achievements have not only brought glory to the nation but have inspired future generations to strive for excellence in sports.

The ceremony was also attended by Indian sporting legends like Deepa Malik, Sania Mirza, Karnam Malleswari and Pullela Gopichand who have inspired countless younger athletes with their achievements and excellence.

In a heart-warming and moving gesture, Mrs Ambani was presented with the Paris 2024 Paralympic Torch, a symbol of equality and unity, by Devendra Jhajharia, Sumit Antil and Satyanarayana, chief coach of Paralympic Committee of India, as a token of appreciation for her efforts to make sports more inclusive in India.

The athletes reiterated their support for Mrs Ambani’s vision of helping India become a sporting nation that has success in multiple sports and acknowledged the need to further bolster the Olympic movement in the country by showing their solidarity and committing to making a difference in their ways by inspiring the next-gen.