Sports Minister Vijay Goel on Monday felicitated the special athletes, coaches and officials who represented India at the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Austria, PTI reported.

The Indian athletes won 73 medals at the Games held from March 14 to 25. India won 37 gold, 10 silver and 26 bronze medals, finishing fifth in the medal tally in a field of 2700 athletes from 107 countries.

Goel congratulated each member of the Indian contingent and said these athletes proved that by devotion and determination a person can achieve anything in his life. The Sports Minister also expressed hope that many of these special athletes will bring more glory to the nation in future as well.

Earlier, the Sports Ministry had earlier cleared a contingent of 90 athletes, 23 coaches and three officials at full cost to the government. The total cost for participation for the Indian contingent at the Special Olympics Winter Games was about Rs 1.50 crore.