The Deafolympians, who had staged a protest at the airport for not getting a proper welcome by the Sports Ministry, have demanded that they should be treated at par with para-athletes.

The Deafolympians, who had won five medals including a gold in the Deafolympics held at Samsun in Turkey from July 18 to 30, had refused to leave Delhi airport, protesting that no top official from the Sports Ministry came to receive them. Later on, they met Sports Secretary Injeti Srinivas and put forth the demand that Deafolympians should be treated at par with para-athletes.