Paris, Sep 6 (IANS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday congratulated judoka Kapil Parmar for his memorable performance as he won a bronze medal on Thursday, the first won by the country in para-judo in the Paralympic Games here. Parmar defeated Elielton de Oliveira of Brazil by an Ippon in the Men's 60kg J1 category in the French Capital.

"A very memorable sporting performance and a special medal!" the Prime Minister said in his social media post.

"Congratulations to Kapil Parmar, as he becomes the first-ever Indian to win a medal in Judo at the Paralympics. Congrats to him for winning a Bronze in the Men's 60kg J1 event at the #Paralympics2024! Best wishes for his endeavours ahead," the Prime Minister wrote in a media post on Thursday.

In the bronze medal match on Thursday, Parmar defeated Elielton de Oliveira of Brazil by an Ippon to claim the third position on the podium. This is the first time that an Indian has won a medal in the para-judo after Parmar became the first judoka from the country to qualify for the Paralympic Games.

Parmar's medal took India's tally in the Paralympic Games in Paris to 25 -- five gold, nine silver, and 11 bronze medals. The country currently occupies the 14th position in the overall medals tally.

The 24-year-old from Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, Parmar had earlier lost to Iran's Banitaba Anitaba Khoram Seyed Meysam in the semifinals A, going down by an Ippon in a bout in which he also incurred a penalty. Parmar had earlier reached the last-four stage with a 10-0 win over Marcos Dennis Blanco of Venezuela in the quarterfinals.