Bhubaneswar, Oct 20 (PTI) Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday announced a cash incentive of Rs 10 lakh each for the seven athletes from Odisha who will be participating in the Asian Para Games in China's Hangzhou.

Among these seven athletes is paralympic gold medalist Pramod Bhagat, a badminton player. In the previous edition of the Asian Para Games held in Jakarta, Bhagat secured a bronze in men's doubles.

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The others are track & field athlete Jayanti Behera, visually impaired chess player Soundarya Kumar Pradhan, and wheelchair fencing players Rakhal Kumar Sethi, V Ramesh Rao, Prafulla Kumar Khandayatray and Pujaswini Nayak.

Patnaik said, "We are immensely proud of our para-athletes who have worked tirelessly to qualify for the prestigious Asian Para Games."

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"The para-athletes are a testimony to human spirit and determination," he said, wishing the Indian contingent for success in the games that will begin on October 22.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)