Olympic medallists, sportpersons felicitated in Parliament

NEW DELHI, Aug 17: Medal winners and other members of the Indian contingent for the London Olympics were today felicitated at a function in the Parliament House complex.

Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar said the best-ever Olympic medal haul showed that hard work pays.

“One must not lose sight of the achievements of sportspersons who performed well at the Games but could not win a medal…They competed against the best in the world,” Kumar said.

India had sent 81 athletes to the recently concluded London Olympics. The contingent returned with 2 silver medals and 4 bronze medals.

Leaders of the Opposition in Parliament Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal, Sports Minister Ajay Maken and IOA acting president V K Malhotra were also present at the function.

Speaking on the occasion, Maken said though many of the sportpersons who participated in the event did not win medals, they had proved their mettle by making it to the Olympics.

After the function, several Parliamentarians were seen jostling with their fellow colleagues for group photographs. (PTI)