New Delhi, Sep 4 (IANS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Sachin Sarjerao Khilari on winning a silver medal in the Men’s Shotput F46 competition at the Paralympics Games in Paris on Wednesday. Sachin won the silver with an Asian Record of 16.32 metres. He finished behind Canada’s Greg Stewart, who registered a best throw of 16.38, his season’s best.

"Congratulations to Sachin Khilari for his incredible achievement at the #Paralympics2024! In a remarkable display of strength and determination, he has won a silver medal in the Men’s Shotput F46 event. India is proud of him," PM posted on X.

Sachin, who is the reigning world champion in his category, earlier set an Asian Record during the World Para-Athletics Championships in Kobe, Japan, in May with a throw of 16.30m.

Khilari's past achievements include the Asian Para Games (2022) – gold medal, World Para Athletics Championship (2024) – gold medal, World Para-Athletics Championship (2023) – gold medal with Asia Record, 5-time gold medallist in the National Para-Athletics Championship.

India now has 21 medals overall, two more than it did at the Tokyo Paralympic Games in 2021. India presently have three gold, eight silver, and ten bronze medals.

This is Sachin Khilari's first medal in the Paralympic Games.

Born to a farmer’s family from Karagani village in Sangli district of Maharashtra, the 35-year-old Sachin Khilari had suffered an accident during school which left him with a disability in his left hand. He was introduced to Para-Sports less than a decade back in 2015 and participated in the National Games in 2017 in Jaipur where he won the gold medal.

Later on, he was introduced to coach Satayanarayana who supported him in improving his game and helped him to switch to full-time athlete in 2019. Excelling in both sports and academics, Sachin has achieved notable success as a mechanical engineer. He also works as a visiting faculty member at various institutions, assisting students in their MPSC and UPSC exam preparations.