By Matters India Reporter

New Delhi: India received an unexpected gift from its little people on the 70th anniversary of its Independence.

The Indian contingent created history in the World Dwarf Games that took place in Toronto mid-August by winning a record haul of medals.

“We are happy to give 15 gold medals to the country on August 15.We want to give a gift to the country on Independence Day,” team’s coach and manager Shivananda Gunjal told media persons.

He said the team was given “so much respect” in Toronto.

The 21-member team bagged record 37 medals at the also known as “the little peoples’ Olympics.” Besides the gold, the team won 10 silver and 12 bronze medals across events.

Joby Mathew contributed the most to India’s medals tally, bagging 2 gold, 3 silver and a bronze. Arunachalam Nalini, another athlete, also won five medals, including a gold.

The Indian side, which wasn’t considered as one of top teams before the tournament, stunned the world to secure a top-10 finish in the tournament. Join with me to congratulate the team, media reports say.

The Indian sporting fraternity including Sports Minister Vijay Goel, congratulated the contingent for its achievements.

The World Dwarf Games was held over a week at the University of Guelph in Ontario province and featured nearly 400 athletes from 24 countries.

The Indian team was called on stage and felicitated by India’s Consul General to Toronto, Dinesh Bhatia during the Independence Day celebrations on August 15.

“I had a wonderful experience. I participated in badminton doubles, badminton singles, shot put, javelin, discus throw, and power-lifting. We are very much proud to be Indian athletes,” Matthew was quoted saying by HT.

The Hindustan Times also noted that most athletes had taken a loan to travel to Canada and take part in the event.

“None of our athletes from Karnataka, who qualified for the World Games, had financial support. I had to pledge my farm land to borrow 200,000 rupees to cover my travel expenses,” said sprinter Devappa More, who won 100m gold and 200m silver.

The United States won most medals 293, including 116 gold, followed by Great Britain 201 medals (80 gold) and hosts Canada 105 medals (41 gold).