“He gave his best performance and won bronze”: Hokato Hotozhe Sem’s coach lauds him on bronze at Paris Paralympics

Paris [France], September 7 (ANI): Hokato Hotozhe Sem’s coach Rakesh Singh Rawat hailed the athlete following his magnificent performance in the shot put F57 final saying that he has given his best and that’s why he won the bronze medal.

Hokato Hotozhe Sema secured a bronze medal for the country at the ongoing para multi-sport event in the final of the men’s shot put F57 final on Saturday.

In the medal match, Hokato recorded the best throw of 14.65 m, which is also his personal best now. Iran’s Yashin Khosravi secured the top spot and secured gold with a throw of 15.96 m while the silver went to Thiago Paulino dos Santos of Brazil after he threw 15.06 m.

“I want to thank the PCI, Indian Army, OGQ India, and Khelo India for their support… I just wanted to give my best so that I could see my country’s flag flying high… In 2014, when I was posted in J&K, I lost my leg in a landmine during an operation. To prevent infection, my leg was amputated… That was the lowest time of my life…” Hokato Hotozhe Sema said while speaking to ANI.

Further, the para athlete stated that seeing other soldiers with amputated limbs gave him the motivation to play the sport.

“Seeing other soldiers with amputated limbs living their lives normally gave me motivation. I started using artificial limbs… When I got to learn about Paralympics in 2016, I started training for them… Indian Army has taught me to be tough and I would like to tell everyone to make your disability your biggest asset…” Hokato Hotozhe Sema adeed.

Rakesh Singh Rawat said that Hokato Hotozhe Sem was very motivated in the final and said that he is performing brilliantly in practice sessions.

“He was very motivated and was performing extremely well in practices as well… He gave his best performance and won a bronze… Since he is in the Army and came to the Army Limb Centre for treatment, we shifted him to the Army Paralympic Node in Pune and motivated him to play. Overcoming his physical and mental challenges, he started playing and reached this level…”

Indian para-athlete Bhavanaben Chaudhary finished at fifth spot in the women’s F46 javelin throw final at the ongoing Paris Paralympics on Saturday. Bhavanaben bowed out of the competition despite her best efforts, securing a best throw of 39.70 metres.

Earlier in the day, Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio announced that Paris Paralympics 2024 bronze medalist Hokato Hotozhe Sema will be given a reward price of Rs. 1.5 Crore following his brilliant performance at the ongoing marquee event.

“We’re proud & joyous for Mr. Hokato Hotozhe Sema on winning Bronze at the #ParalympicsGames in Shot Put event. He’s made India proud & Nagaland shine. Being the 1st Olympic Medalist from Nagaland, I’m happy to announce that the Nagaland Govt will extend a cash reward of Rs1.5Cr,” Neiphiu Rio posted on X.

India’s medal tally in the ongoing Paralympics has gone up to 27, with six gold medals, nine silver medals, and 12 bronze medals. This is the most gold India has ever won at a Paralympics Games event, outdoing the total of five golds in Tokyo 2020.

Indian para-athletes in particular have made the country proud with three golds, six silversand six bronze medals, giving them a total of 15 medals.