PM Narendra Modi hails Muzaffarnagar archer, asks her to bring gold from Paralympic Games in Tokyo

MUZAFFARNAGAR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday interacted with

Muzaffarnagar

archer Jyoti Baliyan and encouraged her to win a gold medal for the country in the upcoming

Paralympic Games

in

Tokyo

. PM Modi spoke to Jyoti as part of his interaction with 54 para-athletes contingent which will take part in the games.

In his brief video conversation with Jyoti, PM Modi asked her about the problems she faced and hailed her achievements in the sports.

Jyoti, 25, a resident of Goyla village in Muzaffarnagar, was a child when a wrong injection administered by a quack left her one leg paralysed. Her father, a marginal farmer, didn’t lose confidence in her daughter -- who always wanted to be a sports person. He encouraged her to take up archery.

When she turned 13,

Devendra Singh Balyan

, the father, purchased an archery kit for her that cost him whopping Rs 3lakh.

He took a loan for it. Jyoti hasn’t looked back since then. She participated in several state and national events and bagged scores of medals. But, in between, her father died in an accident while working in his field about five years ago.

The Prime Minister commended Jyoti’s perseverance and wished her luck for the games.

PM Modi also asked what dish she would ask her mother to prepare once she returns after winning the medal.

Jyoti said she liked ‘bhindi’ (okra) and chapati. Being trained by Kuldeep Kumar Vaidwan in

Panipat

, Jyoti is scheduled to fly to Tokyo on August 23.

Later, speaking to TOI about the interaction with the PM, Jyoti said, “I was very excited. It was the best day of my life. I am feeling good and energetic. I will try my best to get gold for the country.”