Gold Rush For India At Special Olympics World Games 2023 In Berlin

India registered their first gold medals at the Special Olympics World Games 2023 as Geetanjali Nagvekar won gold in the 800m Level C, to start, what would be a gold rush, with as many as three more added by the end of the day's action. It all kicked off at the Hanns-Braun-Stadion at Olympiapark early in the morning, Geetanjali running a time of 4:31:40, almost eight seconds ahead of her competitor in second place to put India on the board early. Not long after, India added a silver in the male 800m. A heavy downpour meant action at the athletics track was halted, and the focus shifted to the indoor arenas across Berlin.

Indian athletes were in action in handball, badminton, powerlifting, swimming and roller skating. In the pool, Dinesh Shanmugam continued his form from the day prior to bringing home a silver in the Male 50m breaststroke, Level A, clocking a time of 46.59 to do so. Late in the day, Madhav also confirmed a Gold medal for the Indian contingent in Swimming in the 25M Breaststroke event.

The real highlight though, came from the roller-skating rink, Indian athletes bringing eight medals (two golds, two silver and four bronze) through the day.

After some brilliant performances by Indian athletes in the 30m straight line, it all came down to the 500m races and buoyed by a large cheering crowd Saraswati was the first one to win gold, streaking ahead of her competitors right from the start not just to establish a lead, but also dominate the race to take the win. The Haryana athlete had only put on a pair of blades six months back and has always been seen as a high achiever from the start.

"We always knew that she had it in her but just lacked the economic support from her family. Now that she's got this big