Pune:India’s first Paralympic gold medalist Murlikant Petkar to be felicitated
Pune, 2nd December 2023: India’s first ever gold Paralympic medalist Padma Shri awardee Murlikant Petkar will be felicitated in a function. The event will take place on December 3 at 11 am at Raga Palace, Pimpri on Sunday.
The felicitation programme is being organised by The Sport Climbing Association of Maharashtra, in collaboration with the Event Organising Committee.
Lt Gen Ajai Kumar Singh AVSM, YSM, SM, VSM, GOC-IN-C, the Southern Command will attend the event. Raman Gangakhedkar and Kantilal H. Sancheti are also likely to attend the function.
Raman Gangakhedkar is an Indian public health expert and epidemiologist. He served as Head Scientist of Epidemiology and Communicable Diseases at the Indian Council of Medical Research before retiring on 30 June 2020. He received the 2020 Padma Shri award, the fourth -highest civilian award in India.
Kantilal H. Sancheti is an orthopaedic physician who invented India’s first indigenous knee implant, the Indus Knee, and founder of Maharashtra’s first orthopaedic dedicated specialty hospital. The Government of India presented him with its highest civilian awards: the Padma Shri in 1991, the Padma Bhushan in 2001 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2012.
The occasion is the 51st anniversary of Petkar winning India’s first-ever Paralympic gold medal. Petkar won the gold in 50m freestyle swimming with a world record of 37.33 seconds, which he set in the 1972 Paralympics in Heidelberg, Germany. The ceremony will see Petkar sharing his memories of Paralympic Gold. At the same event, Petkar also competed in javelin, precision javelin throw and slalom disciples and was a finalist in all three of them.
