Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday congratulated the Indian para badminton team which won 12 medals at the BWF World Championship in Basel, Switzerland.
India finished with 12 medals, including three gold at the championship.
India's Manasi Joshi won the gold medal after defeating world No. 1 and compatriot Parul Parmar. Photograph: Facebook"130 crore Indians are extremely proud of the Indian Para Badminton contingent ... Congratulations to the entire team, whose success is extremely gladdening and motivating. Each of these players is remarkable," the prime minister wrote on Twitter.
One of the standouts was Manasi Joshi, who clinched gold at the competition, defeating world No. 1 and compatriot Parul Parmar.
According to reports, Mumbai's Manasi, who was on her way, met with a road accident which saw her left leg crushed, arms broken and numerous other injuries.
But that did not crush her spirit. She went on to pursue badminton, setting an example to the world and inspiring people.
Twitterverse was sent into a tizzy after Joshi's feat and many took to the platform to applaud the star whose name was trending with close to 9,000 tweets.
"In the high of PV Sindhu getting Gold in the world championship, we forgot to wish #ManasiJoshi, who won Gold in World Para-Badminton championship! Here is it wishing her," Kiran Bedi, Governor of Puducherry tweeted.
"And let's not forget to acknowledge this GOLD too! # ManasiJoshi, Para Badminton World Champion," Bollywood actor Tapsee Pannu tweeted.
"#BadmintonWorldChampionship, India's 2 Golden girls @Pvsindhu1 & #ManasiJoshi," one Twitter user wrote.
"Golden Beti's Who Made India Proud. Pic 1 #PVSindu becomes first Indian to win Gold in World Woman Badminton Championship. Pic 2 #ManasiJoshi who won Gold in World Para-Badminton championship. A True Champions," another user commented.
"We are proud of P.V.Sindhu. And equally proud of Manasi Joshi who won Gold in the recently concluded BWF para-badminton championship! Please spread the message," a Twitter user wrote.
"Manasi Joshi won gold in para-badminton. She deserves the same appreciation as PV Sindhu got #respect," another fan tweeted.
On Tuesday, Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, Kiren Rijiju handed over cheques worth Rs 1.82 crore to para-badminton world championship winners.
The gold medal winners got Rs 20 lakh each while silver and bronze medallist took home Rs 14 lakh and Rs 8 lakh, respectively. Winners in doubles events were given Rs 15 lakh each for gold, Rs 10.5 lakh each for silver and Rs 6 lakh each for bronze.
"We want to ensure that all athletes are meted out the same facilities by the government. The para-badminton team has performed very well and brought glory to the country. They deserve to be rewarded for their hard work," Rijiju had said on Tuesday.
