Kolkata, Aug 5 (IANS): The Indian contingent at the Special Olympics had a great outing pocketing 173 medals in the Los Angeles games that concluded recently.

The athletes, who competed under the banner of Special Olympics Bharat, bagged 47 gold medals, 54 silver and 72 bronze pieces.

The country was most successful in athletics where its athletes collected a total of 47 medals which included three gold medals in various categories of the 100 metre race.

They also clinched the soft ball gold on debut.

National Director - Organization Development, Special Olympics Bharat, Mukta Narain Thind was pleased with the results.

"They shine everytime, and they have shone this year too. We are pleased with the performance, the medal tally has improved. They have bagged 173 from 150 something last time around, so we are extremely proud of what they have achieved," Mukta told IANS.

"Next is the winter Olympics in Austria in 2017 which will be our main focus. The athletes will start training from October this year," she said.