Kashish Lakra, the class XII student from Modern Public School, Shalimar Bagh, New Delhi, has become the youngest to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics in the Women's Club Throw F51 category. The final list of selected participants was revealed by the Indian Paralympic Committee after the New Delhi selection trials.
The former Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, Kiran Rijiju, took to Twitter to congratulate Lakra on her selection. He wrote, “I congratulate our champion Para Athletes for qualifying in the Club Throw F-51 event at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. Many congratulations to Amit and Dharambir in the men’s event and Kashish Lakra in the women’s event.”
Lakra did credit her accomplishment to her coaches as well as the school’s inclusive infrastructure. In wake of the surging COVID cases, the organisers of the Tokyo Olympics will hold a state of emergency in the entire country. However, the mega sporting event will be held, without any audience between July 23 and August 8, 2021. The first group of Indian athletes will leave for Tokyo on July 17.
Modern Public School is ecstatic over Lakra’s selection. School principal, Alka Kapur, thanked the coach and she also called Lakra’s selection a “dream come true”. The social media post applauding Lakra’s accomplishment is still being flooding with best wishes teachers and fellow students.