PCI signs MoU with Cairn Foundation under project 'Divyang'

The Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) on Tuesday announced it has signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Cairn Foundation (CF) to support 10 para-athletes from the states of Rajasthan and Gujarat, in a major boost to their preparations for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

According to the MoU, Cairn Foundation will support the overall development of the athletes, including supply of sports kit and equipment, specialised training and coaching, diet and nutrition supplements, physiotherapy, exposure to domestic and international camps; international competitions, and incentives for exceptional performances.

The MoU, which was signed in New Delhi on September 6, 2019, meant Cairn Foundation has extended its partnership with PCI under the 'Project Divyang' for a period of one year with effect from the day of signing. Since 2017, Cairn Foundation has been supporting three promising para-athletes from Rajasthan.

The new association will extend support to top para-athletes like double Paralympic gold medallist Devendra Jhajharia (Rajasthan), World Para Athletics two-time champion Sundar Singh Gurjar (Rajasthan), ace para Badminton star Parul Parmar (Gujarat) and seven others.

The list also has some promising juniors like national champion Rishi Raj Rathore and Vikas Bhatiwal (both Para Athletics) and talented Para shooter Rudransh Khandelwal, who has four gold medals to his name. All of them will be nurtured to become future stars.

"Under Project Divyang, Para athletes have already shown fruitful results and this new partnership with Cairn Foundation is another step to give wings to the dreams of many potential athletes from parts of Rajasthan and Gujarat, who can be Paralympic medallists. We hope that this partnership will help grow the Paralympic Movement in the country," said Gursharan Singh, PCI interim President, who had signed the MoU on behalf of PCI.

Meanwhile, Cairn Foundation representative Joydeep Sen said: "We are very happy to announce the new association with PCI. It's been a great journey so far and we are very delighted to see the strong performance of our Para athletes in global stage. We hope through this new association, they can do even better and reach greater heights. We hope to see some of these athletes bringing laurels to the country at the Paralympics."

The CF-supported para athletes have recently won 24 gold, one silver and three bronze medals in national and international events recently, which was the driving force behind the new association.

( With inputs from IANS )