Special Olympics World Games: Saraswati wins gold as India find massive success in Berlin

Saraswati was in fiery form as she clinched gold in the 500m roller skating race at the ongoing Special Olympics World Games, in Berlin.

She dominated in her event and skated right into the arms of her coaches, who were cheering for her. Meanwhile, Angelina Mary Poussin won silver in the 100m race.

Ranveer Saini and Rahul Agarwal showcased India’s form in golf, where they won the gold medal. The pair played four rounds and were leading on all four days, winning by a record-breaking margin of 18 shots. Meanwhile, Ankush Saha came out on top in Level 1 golf.

Such was India’s success, that by the end of Friday their medal tally stood at 96 (33 gold, 37 silver and 25 bronze).

Judo proved to be successful for India on Friday. Suhali Parveen’s silver medal in the sport opened India’s medal account on Thursday, and she was joined by two more medallists on the mat 24 hours later. Prince Solanki won bronze in the male level 2 category and Muskan clinched gold in the female level 3 category.

Three medals were also won in table tennis. In an all-Indian final in the U21-D3, Vighnesh Lokeshwar Naik defeated Gunocean Singh Bedu to win gold. In the women’s singles 30-D3, Alivelamma Gujjala secured gold. In powerlifting’s 93kg category, Anurag Prasad won three gold medals (squad, deadlift and combined) and one silver in the bench press.

The Special Olympics World Games began on June 17, and will end on June 25. This is the first time Germany is hosting the event, and there are around 7000 athletes taking part from approximately 170 countries across 24 sports, with 3000 coaches and 20000 volunteers. The bid process for hosting the event egan in November 2017 and Germany were the only ones interested.