Workers removed the Olympics logo from the Eiffel Tower in the early hours of Friday, returning the beloved monument to its familiar form — but perhaps only temporarily. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has promised to build new Olympic rings and return them to the landmark as a tribute to the hugely successful Olympic Games held in the capital during July and August. The proposal has polarised opinion in the French capital and has been criticised by descendants of the tower’s designer Gustave Eiffel, as well as conservation groups.

After initially suggesting the new rings should be permanent, Hidalgo has proposed they remain on the city’s world-renowned symbol until the next Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028.

Workers operating multiple large cranes removed the 30-tonne steel rings from between the first and second floors of the tower during the early hours of Friday morning.

They were first installed just under four months ago, on June 7, and will now be melted down and recycled.

The new rings, which the International Olympic Committee is expected to pay for, would be lighter versions of the originals and less prominent, according to a deputy Paris mayor, Pierre Rabadan.

“In my opinion, it would be better to put them somewhere else because it’s a Parisian monument and it’s not right that it becomes an advertising medium for an event that is now over,” Hugo Staub, a French tourist at the tower on Friday, told AFP.

Culture Minister Rachida Dati, a longtime critic and opponent of Hidalgo, has also cast doubt over the idea, saying the mayor’s proposal would need to respect procedures protecting historic buildings.

But others felt regret at losing a visual reminder of an enchanted period in Paris and expressed support for the idea of replacements.

“They were a bit large so it’s better to put small ones that can remain for a few years,” said Gabriel, a French volunteer at the Games, who was at the foot of the tower on Friday. “It would be symbolic and a great souvenir.”

Maintenance issues

After months of gloom and self-doubt in the run-up to the start of the Olympics on July 26, Paris and the country at large threw themselves into the spirit of the Games, which have been hailed as some of the best of the modern era.

Hidalgo, in power since 2014, also wants to retain other symbols of the event such as the innovative cauldron placed in front of the Louvre museum as well as statues of illustrious women placed in the river Seine during the opening ceremony.

Several conservation groups in Paris have urged the Socialist city leader to prioritise maintenance of the Eiffel Tower, which is owned and operated by the city, rather than the Olympic rings.

The tower’s workers launched a five-day strike in February to protest against its state of disrepair and to request extra spending on painting and anti-rust protection.

Para shuttler Nitesh Kumar in action© X (Twitter)

Navdeep Singh during ‘NDTV Yuva Conclave’.

Paralympian Navdeep Singh made the entire country proud after clinching the prestigious gold medal the men’s javelin F41 final at the 2024 Paralympic Games. India registered it’s best-ever tally in the Paralympics as the contingent returned home with a whopping total of 29 medals. Talking about Navdeep, the 23-year-old para-athlete also grabbed a lot of limelight due to his wild celebration. After registering a distance of 47.32 in the final, Navdeep used strong words to show his aggression and got viral. 

However, apart from being a devoted, aggressive athlete, Navdeep also has a fun side, which he showed during Shubhankar Mishra’s podcast. 

On being asked about his favourite Bollywood movie, Navdeep choose the horror-comedy blockbuster, “Stree 2”. 

The hosts asked him, “Is it because of actress Shraddha Kapoor?” Navdeep replied, “No, It’s because I like Tamannaah Bhatia.”

Later, it was also revealed that Navdeep is a very good mimicry artist and was asked to mimic PM Narendra Modi. 

However, Navdeep humbly turned down the hosts’ request, stating, “I can’t. I respect him a lot. He is the pride of our country, so it won’t be right to mimic him.”

Navdeep recently met PM Modi, who also did not lose the opportunity and teased the para-athlete for his wild celebration. 

During the interaction, PM Modi also asked Navdeep about the video that went viral following his triumph, “Have you seen your video or not. How do you perform with such aggression.”

To which, Navdeep replied, “Last time (Tokyo Paralympics), I had finished fourth. Before leaving for Paris, I had promised you, so the promise has been fulfilled.”

He went on to ask PM Modi to sign the left side of his jacket, which is his throwing arm as well. PM Modi humbly agreed and signed an autograph on his left arm.

Differently-abled but exceptionally resolute, India’s para-athletes would look back at their Paralympics campaign with pride as most of the established names lived up to expectations and many talented greenhorns made the big stage their own in a record-smashing medal haul of 29. Seven of these 29 medals are gold, which is another first for the country that started to make its presence felt only in the 2016 edition, where it won four medals. The upswing in performance after that has been meteoric with Tokyo yielding 19, a number that was surpassed this time.

Not to forget, a lot of medal-winning performances here were record efforts and personal bests, demonstrating that the athletes have made significant progress as far as their self-belief is concerned.

The 29 medals in five sports, including a whopping 17 at the track and field events, have ensured that the country will end in the top 20 of the mega-event that was once again dominated by China with over 200 medals.

India is still far away from becoming a force at the Olympic level but the nation has certainly emerged as a force to be reckoned with in the competition for the differently-abled.

The government did its bit with increased spending on training, recovery and support staff. The sports ministry had 59 para-athletes in its Target Olympic Podium Scheme roster, 50 of whom qualified for Paris.

Unexpected medals in track and judo

The contingent of 84 ensured plenty of firsts for India in Paralympic history including medals in track events with sprinter Preethi Pal winning a bronze in the women’s 100m T35 and 200m T35 class.

T35 classification is meant for athletes who have coordination impairments such as hypertonia, ataxia and athetosis. Preethi was born with weak legs and it became progressively worse as she grew up.

Another first ever medal came via Kapil Parmar in Judo. He made India proud by securing a bronze in the men’s 60kg J1 class.

His was another story of remarkable resolve as the 24-year-old lifted himself from a life altering accident in his childhood when he got electrocuted while playing in the fields of his village. Kapil was forced to sell tea as well later in his life to make ends meet but he turned things around and how.

Archery and club throw prop up India in medals tally

The likes of Harvinder Singh and Dharambir pushed India considerably higher up the medals tally by securing path-breaking gold medals in archery and club throw respectively.

Armless archer Sheetal Devi, who was born without arms, was already a beacon of hope to millions but with her mixed team bronze, the 17-year-old gave her community another reason to never give up.

No wonder she became a crowd favourite in Paris as she left everyone in awe using her legs instead of arms to hit the bulls’ eye.

The crowd was left hugely disappointed as she narrowly lost her 1/8 elimination contest in the singles event.

Days later, Harvinder kept his nerve under extreme pressure to land the first ever gold for India in archery, also changing the colour of his medal from the Tokyo edition where he won bronze.

In the club throw event, it was a rare one two finish for India with Dharambir and Pranav Soorma ending up on the podium in the F51 class.

A tragic diving accident had Dharambir paralysed from waist down but the Sonepat resident found much needed support from fellow para athlete Amit Kumar Saroha who guided the latter in his darkest days.

Sumit Antil and Avani Lekhara defend titles

While plenty of firsts were registered, some of the Indian athletes including javelin thrower Sumit Antil and shooter Avani Lekhara had high expectations to meet, having won gold in Tokyo.

Sumit, whose left leg was amputated after an accident, broke his own Paralympic record for a second successive javelin gold while wheelchair-bound rifle shooter Lekhara dominated the field in the air rifle SH1 final.

A gold also came from the badminton court via Kumar Nitesh who pipped Britain’s Daniel Bethell in a thrilling final. Nitesh too lost his leg after a train accident. He took to badminton while pursuing his graduation from IIT-Mandi.

Going forward, India can aspire to finish in the top-10 if it manages to create a pool of para swimmers too. Only one swimmer represented the country in Paris.

Table toppers China won as many as 54 medals in swimming including 20 gold.

Simran (right) with her guide at Paris Paralympics 2024.© X (formerly Twitter)

File photo of Kasthuri Rajamani.© X (Twitter)

Having successfully changed the colour of his medal from bronze at Tokyo Paralympics to gold at Paris, India’s star para archer Harvinder Singh’s next target is to continue his successful run and complete his PhD. The first Indian para archer to have won a Paralympics medal at Tokyo, Harvinder rewrote history when he bagged the country’s maiden gold in the men’s recurve event at Paris on Thursday. “The preparations were going well in India at SAI Sonipat where I had both my coaches and that helped a lot. We came to France 15 days before (the event) and I was shooting well,” he told the media on Friday while discussing his preparations for the Paralympics.

“I was working on a few technical aspects. I wanted to go to Korea about 3-4 months ago but the coach was called here at SAI Sonipat,” said Harvinder, who has a disability in his legs following a medical mishap when he was one-and-a-half years old.

A local doctor administered him an injection which left him unable to move his legs properly after he had contracted dengue.

The first Indian to win a Paralympics medal in archery at Tokyo, Harvinder said he felt what the pressure of expectations means while he was preparing for Paris.

“The way the others would wish ‘best of luck’, it would be in a way that would convey to me that I now needed to change the colour (of the medal). It tells you the kind of exceptions that are there,” he said.

Harvinder, who was drawn into para archery after the 2012 Olympics, said he aims to finish his PhD which had to be put on the hold as his career took off in sports.

“I was active in studies until 2018. From 2012, I would study in the morning and practice in the evening and there would be days when I would have two sessions,” he said.

“I got busier in sports after I got the medal (gold in Asian Para Games) in 2018 and because of all of that, my PhD got delayed.” “I am doing PhD in economics from the Punjab University in Patiala, and since I have to win medals for the country, preparations for big tournaments also happened at big level which does not give me time, but I hope to finish my PhD in the next few months,” Harvinder said.

The 33-year-old also wants to relive the experience of seeing the Indian flag held up high and the national anthem being played as he wishes to win more medals.

“Every athlete dreams to win the gold medals, that their country’s flag flies high, the national anthem gets sung… all that happened here and I would hope that I am able to replicate it in the next competitions such as the World Championships,” he said.

Harvinder said he was mentally prepared to tackle the pressure in the Paralympics.

“I had handled the pressure before, of the semifinals and of the podium. I had it in my mind that I have to win (the gold), but the challenge was to bring it out in terms of performance and we were successful in it,” he said.

Harvinder hoped his feat in Paris is able to inspire lot many para athletes and bring more competitors to archery in general.

“The next challenge for me is to maintain this performance. I had got a lot of phone calls and messages after winning the the medal in Tokyo. This medal will contribute in the growth of para archery and archery in India,” he said.

Gold medal-winning archer Harvinder Singh and sprinter Preethi Pal, who made history by becoming the first-ever Indian woman to win two medals at the Paralympics, will be the country’s flag bearers during the closing ceremony of the Paris Games on Sunday. Harvinder, 33, who had also scripted history by becoming the first Indian archer to clinch a gold at the Paralympics to add to the bronze he won in Tokyo in 2021, said carrying the country’s flag during the closing ceremony was the highest honour he could have dreamed of.

“Winning gold for India has been a dream come true, and now leading our nation as a flag-bearer at the closing ceremony is the highest honour I could imagine. This victory is for everyone who believed in me, and I hope to inspire many more to pursue their dreams,” said the Haryana-based Harvinder, who has impairment in both legs since he was a toddler.

Preethi, 23, who clinched bronze medals in women’s T35 100m and 200m competitions with personal best timings of 14.21 and 30.01 seconds respectively, said she was thrilled with the news.

“It is a great honour to represent India as a flag bearer. This moment is not just about me; it’s about every para-athlete who has pushed their limits to make our nation proud. I am thrilled to be leading our incredible team at the closing ceremony.” Preeti, born in Uttar Pradesh, is a T35 athlete, who suffers from coordination impairments such as hypertonia, ataxia and athetosis.

The Indian contingent’s chef de mission Satya Prakash Sangwan said in a statement that the two athletes’ performance will inspire the future generations.

“Harvinder Singh’s historic gold in archery and Preethi Pal’s stellar performance in athletics have made them true ambassadors of our nation’s grit and determination.

“Their role as flag-bearers at the closing ceremony is a symbol of the incredible journey our athletes have undertaken. Their achievements inspire us all, and I am confident they will continue to motivate future generations of para-athletes,” said Sangwan.

India has so far won 26 medals, including six gold and nine silver, which is their best ever performance at the Paralympics.

File photo of Simran Sharma.© X (formerly Twitter)