Founded in 1968, the Special Olympics is a year-round event giving sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities.

BERLIN: The Indian contingent continued its medal rush at the Special Olympics World Summer Games in Berlin, crossing the 50-medal mark on Wednesday.

At the end of the day's action, SO Bharat had 55 medals, including 15 gold, 27 silver, and 13 bronze spread across five different sports including athletics, cycling, powerlifting, roller skating and swimming.

India registered five medals in swimming (3 golds, 1 silver and, 1 bronze) and six on the cycling course (3 Gold, 2 silver, one bronze) on Wednesday.

Day 2 and Day 3 brought us incredible moments at the Special Olympics World Summer Games! Witness the extraordinary determination and passion from our incredible athletes at the Special Olympics World Summer Games earning medals that reflect their exceptional abilities. pic.twitter.com/MwEmqF9Ick

— Special Olympics Bharat (@SOlympicsBharat) June 21, 2023

Every member of the cycling team won a medal with Neel Yadav being the first to do so with a bronze in the 5km road race.

Later Yadav, Shivani and Indu Prakash won golds in the 1km time trial, while Kalpana Jena and Jeyaseela Arbutharaj took home the silver.

In the pool, India's medals almost doubled in number thanks to the exploits of the freestyle swimmers, Diksha Jitendra Shirgaonkar, Pooja Giridharrao Gaikavada and Prashaddhi Kamble winning golds, with Madhav Madan adding another medal to his tally (gold, 25m freestyle) and Sidhanth Murali Kumar winning bronze in the 25m freestyle.

Among others, Sonepat's Saket Kundu won silver in the mini javelin Level B.

Celebrating the Silver Triumph of Saket Kundu in Mini Javelin at Special Olympics World Summer Games!#specialolympics #sobharat #athletic #Javelin #MiniJavelin #AthleticsTriumph#specialolympicsbharat #sob #inclusionmatters #inclusionrevolution #roadtoberlin #berlin2023 pic.twitter.com/roxsvbEtob

— Special Olympics Bharat (@SOlympicsBharat) June 21, 2023

The Little Angels School student is a multi-sport athlete, who has competed in table tennis, figure skating and athletics at the national level.

Among the probables for the 2023 Special Olympics World Winter Games, Kundu lost his chance to represent India when the Games were cancelled.

Shrugging his disappointment he switched to mini javelin, an event that made its debut at the World Games in Berlin, and his medal was the first India has won in the event.