Powerlifters Jaideep, Khatun qualify for Tokyo Paralympics

Powerlifters Jaideep Kumar and Sakina Khatun on Wednesday qualified for the upcoming Tokyo Paralympics after the sports world governing body handed bipartite quotas to the country.

World Para Powerlifting conferred a bipartite quota each to Kumar (mens 65 kg) and Khatun (womens 50kg), Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) said.

Khatun had won a bronze at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and a silver in the 2018 Asian Para Games.

The bipartite slots came as a relief to India after the countrys para powerlifting team couldnt participate at last months Fazza -Dubai 2021 World Cup owing to travel restrictions to the United Arab Emirates.

Its a dream come true to qualify for the Paralympics. I have been working hard for the last two years. Now that the qualification has come, I will give my best to win a medal at the Games, said Khatun, who became Indias first female powerlifter to qualify for the Paralympics.

Rohtak based Jaideep said: After we had missed the final qualification event at Dubai, there was a lot of uncertainty about my qualification. “The bipartite slots have given us a lot of hope and motivation to work towards our goal. I will definitely fight for a medal at the Games. The Tokyo Paralympics will run from August 24 to September 5.

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