United in Triumph: Nita Ambani celebrates India's Olympics and Paralympics athletes

Nita Ambani with the Indian Hockey Team during the Reliance Foundation’s United in Triumph event at Antilia , Mumbai India on 29th September.

Reliance Foundation chairperson and IOC member Nita Ambani honoured India’s Olympic and Paralympic athletes on September 29 at her residence Antilia in Mumbai.

The event titled ‘United in Triumph’ celebrated the unifying power of sports by bringing together 140 Olympians and Paralympians on one platform, celebrating their success and remarkable journeys with a focus on unity and inclusivity.

Speaking at the event, Nita Ambani said: “This is truly historic. Over the last two months, our Olympians and Paralympians proudly took the tricolor to the world! Tonight, for the first time, they are all under one roof. Tonight, for the first time, there are over 140 Olympic and Paralympic athletes who have come together on the same platform. United in Triumph, United in Celebration and United in the inclusive spirit of sport."

She also spoke about women in sports and hailed the contribution of female athletes to the country’s Olympic successes. She said, "Their successes are even more special because of the difficulties women face in pursuing professional sport. Not just economic challenges, even getting permission from their families, or finding facilities to train, access to physios and rehab centres, or simply how far they have to travel from their villages to reach a coach. It’s a long and difficult journey for girls to get recognized in sports. And despite that, our female athletes have reached the pinnacle of success. They are sending out a strong message to the little girls who are watching – a message that they are unstoppable and that nothing is impossible for them!"

Among the attendees were Olympic and Paralympic medalists such as Neeraj Chopra, Manu Bhaker, and Murlikant Petkar -- India's first-ever Paralympic gold medalist. Also present were Devendra Jhajharia, the first Indian to win two Paralympic gold medals and the President of the Paralympic Committee of India, alongside Sumit Antil, Nitesh Kumar, Harvinder Singh, Dharambir Nain, Navdeep Singh, and Praveen Kumar, among others.

The ceremony was also attended by Indian sporting legends like Deepa Malik, Sania Mirza, Karnam Malleswari, and Pullela Gopichand.

Along with India’s star athletes, Bollywood actors Kartik Aryan and Ranveer Singh, who have acted in sport centric movies also attended the event.

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