India’s para-athletes shattered the record books in Paris by delivering a performance of a lifetime, redefining the standard and raising the bar in the para-sports that will be seen as the benchmark in the coming years. The summer of Paris was one to remember for the Indian para-athletes and the entire nation. The magnitude of the success of the para-athletes in Paris echoed from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. In 12 days (August 28 to September 8), India made history by delivering a performance that will be remembered for years to come.
The Indian contingent rewrote record books after enjoying a historic Paralympics campaign in Paris with a record haul of 29 medals, including seven gold, nine silver, and 13 bronze, finishing in the 18th position.
India surpassed its previous most successful campaign at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, which saw them return with 19 medals, including five golds, eight silvers, and six bronze medals.
It was a campaign that gave a new ray of hope to the budding talents who remain keen to excel in their respective sports disciplines.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi felt the contribution of India’s para-athletes is more than medals. PM Modi said that he wants players to play more in Para-sports and get more medals and through them, create a cultural change in perception of specially-abled athletes.
“I want all specially abled people to be looked at with respect rather than sympathy and are considered no less than others. The fact that you are playing and sweating it out for your girl, this hard work will not go in vain. A new atmosphere is being made. Your contribution is more than a medal, you are producing belief in specially abled people that they are no less,” PM Modi said when he met the India contingent of Paralympics at his residence.
Even the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) president, Devendra Jhajharia, exuded confidence about the results that one can expect in the next edition.
During an event, Jhajharia didn’t hesitate to make a promise to the entire nation by saying, “We won’t stop here. Our mission is big. We have started preparing for the next Paralympics. I am confident that in the LA 2028 Paralympics, we will perform better. I promise everyone on behalf of the athletes that we will win at least 40 to 50 medals.”
But before we head towards the next edition, here is a look at the historic campaign, which began with Avani Lekhara opening the medal tally count.
In the Paris edition, a record 84 para-athletes represented India at the Paris 2024 Paralympics, and it was Avani who secured the first gold for the nation after dominating the final of the women’s 10m air rifle.
She notched up and sealed her place at the top of the podium with 249.7 points, which was also her personal best performance in the event. Her fellow compatriot, Mona Agarwal, snatched the bronze medal in the same event.
The third medal came from Preethi Pal’s third-place finish for the bronze medal after clocking 14.21s in the 100m T35 event.
The next medal came from Manish Narwal’s silver medal effort. He racked up 234.9 points in the men’s 10m air pistol SH1 pistol to book his place on the podium. He started the match on a good note, but in the middle, the Indian shooter dropped to the sixth. However, he didn’t lose hope and ended the event with a silver medal around his neck.
Rubina Francis continued the flurry of medals after finishing third and bagging a bronze medal in the P2 – women’s 10m air pistol SH-1 final.
Preethi got her hands on her second and India’s sixth medal in the Paralympics, in the 200m T-35 race, she delivered an eye-catching performance that saw her take away the bronze medal.
Athlete Nishad Kumar won the silver medal in the men’s high jump T47 event with a leap of 2.04m. Yogesh Kathuniya followed it up on the other side of the field and bagged the eighth medal for team India following his silver medal triumph in the men’s discus throw F56 final.
Shuttler Thulasimathi Murugesan lost to China’s Yang Qiu Xia 21-17, 21-10 and secured a silver medal in the women’s singles SU5. In the bronze medal match of the same category, Manisha outclassed Denmark’s Cathrine Rosengren 21-12, 21-8. The Indian player dominated throughout the match, securing another moment of glory for the nation.
In the men’s singles SL4 category, France’s Lucas Mazur completely ousted Suhas Yathirajwith a straight-set win in the gold medal match. The para-shuttler went down against the French player after enduring a 9-21, 13-21 defeat.
The 13th medal came from the Indian archer duo Rakesh Kumar and Sheetal Devi. The duo worked hard to clinch the bronze medal in the mixed team compound event with a 156-155 win over Eleonora Sarti and Matteo Bonnacina of Italy.
As the action shifted from the badminton court to the field of athletics, India javelin thrower Sumit Antil reigned supreme and successfully defended his gold at the Paris Paralympics with a record-breaking throw.
In the men’s javelin throw F64 final, the defending champion broke his record at the Paralympics twice to clinch India’s third gold in the marquee event in Paris.
Indian para-shuttler Nithya Sre Sivan clinched a bronze medal in the women’s SH6 category. She defeated Indonesia’s Rina Marlina 21-14 and 21-6 and got her first-ever medal at the Paralympics.
Para-sprinter Deepthi Jeevanji bagged the 16th medal for India as she won the bronze on Tuesday in the women’s 400m T20 final.
Para-athletes Sharad Kumar and Mariyappan Thangavelu booked a double podium finish for India in the men’s high jump T6 final.
With a leap of 1.88m, Sharad got his hands on a silver medal. His compatriot, Mariyappan, settled for the bronze medal with a leap of 1.85m. America’s Ezra Frech rewrote the Paralympic record to take away the gold with 1.94m, a blockbuster performance.
The double podium finishes continued to rain for India in athletics after Ajeet Singh and Sundar Singh Gurjar claimed silver and bronze medals, respectively, in the men’s javelin throw F46 event at Stade de France.
Sachin Khilari added a silver medal to India’s constantly growing medal tally after delivering a benchmark performance in the men’s shot put F46 final.
Sachin secured the second spot with a 16.32-metre throw, which is also the area best (AB). However, the Indian athlete was unlucky to miss the top spot after getting short of a 0.6m.
India discovered its first-ever archery champion across both the Olympics and Paralympics, with Harvinder Singh getting the top prize in the gold medal clash of the individual recurve para-archery against Poland’s Lukasz Ciszek.
Dharambir added the fifth gold medal in India’s tally by setting an Asian Record with an attempt of 34.92m to take the top honours in the men’s club throw F51 event.
As the game headed towards its climax, Pranav Soorma won the silver medal in the men’s club throw F51 event. He sealed the medal with a 34.59 m throw.
Judoka Kapil Parmar executed the Ippon in 33 seconds to end the contest and take the bronze medal within the blink of an eye in the men’s -60kg J1 event. Kapil’s triumph marked India’s 25th medal in Paris.
In the T64 high jump event, Praveen Kumar raised the tricolour high with an Asian record-breaking jump of 2.08 m, landing India their sixth gold. India finished the competition with seven gold medals, the nation’s highest at any Paralympic event.
The 27th medal was secured by Hokato Hotozhe Sema in the men’s shot put F57 final. Hokato recorded the best throw of 14.65m, his personal best attempt.
Simran Sharma delivered her personal best performance to get her hands on the bronze medal in the women’s 200m T12 final.
The final medal for India in the Paris Paralympics was the one to remember. In a nail-biting affair, Navdeep Singh’s silver medal was upgraded to gold after the initial winner, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Sadegh Beit Sayah, got disqualified from the final. He had initially finished second with a personal-best throw of 47.32m.
Medalists at a Glance:
Gold: Harvinder Singh, Sumit Antil, Dharambir, Praveen Kumar, Navdeep Singh, Nitesh Kumar, Avani Lekhara
Silver: Nishad Kumar, Yogesh Kathuniya, Sharad Kumar, Ajeet Singh, Sachin Khilari, Pranav Soorma, Thulasimathi Murugesan, Suhas Yathiraj, Manish Narwal
Bronze: Sheetal Devi, Rakesh Kumar, Preethi Pal, Deepthi Jeevanji, Mariyappan Thangavelu, Sundar Singh Gurjar, Hokato Hotozhe Sema, Simran Sharma, Manisha Ramadass, Nithya Sre Sivan, Kapil Parmar, Mona Agarwal, Rubina Francis.
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