Host Odisha reaped a rich harvest of 26 medals in the National Para Fencing Championships, which was held at two venues in Bhubaneswar _ Biju Patnaik Indoor Stadium, Nalidrivihar and Kalinga Sports Complex _ from 28 to 31 March 2025. The 26 medals feature eight gold, nine silver and nine bronze.

However, Odish finished overall runners-up with 97 points, while Haryana emerged champions with 101 points, bagging a total of 25 medals, which included nine gold, seven silver and nine bronze.

The four-day championship was organized by Para Sports Association of Odisha (PSAO), under the aegis of Paralympic Committee of India, with the support of the Department of Sports & Youth Services, Government of Odisha.

The championship caused a bit of embarrassment for PSAO as it issued a press release, mentioning that Odisha won a total of 29 medals. But the number of gold, silver and bronze did not match the total. When pointed out, PSAO admitted the blunder and issued a revised medal tally.

But the face-saving efforts proved to be too late as the medal haul still appeared as 29 in some newspapers today. Even the State Sports Department posted it as 29 medals on its social media handles yesterday.

ODISHA MEDAL WINNERS:

GOLD (8): 1. Rakhal Kumar Sethy, men sabre (Category-A), 2. Asha Singh, women epee (Category-B), 3. Rudra Narayan Behera, men sabre (Category-B), 4. Malti Panaure, women epee (Category-A), 5. Omm Prakash Behera, men foil (Category-B), 6. Men foil team (Omm Prakash Behera, V Ramesh Rao, Rakhal Kumar Sethy, Pabitra Sahu), 7. Women foil team (Malti Panaure, Sheela Mantri, Pujaswini Nayak, Karimun Nisa), 8. Malti Panaure, women foil (Category-A)

SILVER (9): 1. Prafulla Kumar Khandayat Ray, men sabre (Category-B), 2. Women epee team (Sheela Mantri, Pujaswini Nayak, Malti Panaure, Madhusmita Sahu), 3. V Ramesh Rao, men foil (Category-A), 4. Malti Panaure, women sabre (Category-A), 5. Asha Singh, women sabre (Category-B), 6. Pabitra Sahu, men epee (Category-A), 7. Omm Prakash Behera, men epee (Category-B), 8. Men epee team (Omm Prakash Behera, V Ramesh Rao, Rakhal Kumar Sethy, Pabitra Sahu), 9. Women sabre team (Sheela Mantri, Pujaswini Nayak, Malti Panaure, Madhusmita Sahu).

BRONZE (9): 1. Pujaswini Nayak, Women epee (Category-B), 2. Sheela Mantri, women epee (Category-A), 3. Rakhal Kumar Sethy, men foil (Category-A), 4. Prafulla Kumar Khandayat Ray, men foil (Category-B), 5. Pujaswini Nayak, women sabre (Category-B), 6. V Ramesh Rao, men epee (Category-A), 7. Sheela Mantri, women foil (Category-A), 8. Pujaswini Nayak, women foil (Category-B), 9. Asha Singh, women foil (Category-B).
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PHOTO: Odisha medal winners celebrate their success with team-mates, coaches and support staff at the National Para Fencing Championships in Bhubaneswar on 31 March 2025.