India Shining At Paralympics, Paris 2024

People won over their disabilities and set a new benchmark, The Paralympic Games is one of the most inspiring and impactful global sporting events, to showcase the extraordinary abilities of athletes with disabilities. Born out of the vision to promote rehabilitation through sports, the Paralympics evolved from a small competition for World War II veterans in 1948 into a global phenomenon. From athletes like Avani Lekhara and Sumit Antil, who made their mark at the recent Paris 2024 Paralympics, to trailblazers in earlier years, the Paralympics remind us that limits are often self-imposed and with effort and spirit, anything is possible. Come into the Games with its largest contingent of 84, the Indian athletes displayed unparalleled resolute to shine bright in the French capital from August 28 to September 8. 

Breaking Records and Setting New Standards

With a total of 29 medals, including seven gold, nine silver, and 13 bronze, India secured 18th place among the participating nations. India’s para-athletes not only secured medals but also shattered world, Paralympic, and Asian records within archery, Sheetal Devi surpassed previous world and Paralympic records and missed the new record by just one point. In athletics, Sumit Antil set a new Paralympic record with a javelin throw of 70.59m, while Sharad Kumar, Dharambir, and Sachin Khilar broke records in high jump, club throw, and shot put, respectively. In shooting, Avani Lekhara surpassed her Paralympic record in the women’s 10m air rifle SH1 event, securing a new record with a score of 249.7 points.

Youngest and Oldest Medalists Make History

Debutant Sheetal Devi, at just 17 years became India’s youngest Paralympic medallist, while Dharambir became the oldest athlete to win gold at the age of 35 years, 7 months. Both athletes set remarkable milestones in Indian sports history.

Increased Participation of Female Athletes

The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games saw record participation from Indian women athletes, with 32 female athletes winning a total of 10 medals—one gold, one silver, and eight bronze. Among them, seven were debutants, including Thulasimathi Murugesan, Sheetal Devi, and Manisha Ramadass. Avani Lekhara became the only female participant from India to win back-to-back medals at the Paralympics, following her success in Tokyo 2020 and now Paris 2024.

Among all the athletes a few stand out as they brought out their A-game on the most important days of their life and made the entire nation proud. 

Here are five Indian para-athletes who performed the best at the Paris Paralympics 2024:

1- Preethi Pal

Preethi Pal came into the competition knowing that no Indian had previously won a medal in a track event at the Paralympics. She left the Paris Games as the only Indian multiple medalist. The athlete from Meerut became India’s first-ever Paralympic medallist in a track event when she clinched bronze in the women’s 100m T35 event. She did so by clocking her personal best timing of 14.21s in the final of the event. The 23-year-old wasn’t done yet, as she again managed to achieve her personal best timing, this time in the women’s 200m T35 race. By a timing of 30.01s, Preethi clinched her second bronze medal.

2- Nitesh Kumar

In the badminton men’s singles SL3 event, clinching gold with this Nitesh Kumar continued India’s legacy, started with a hard-fought win in three games against the bronze medalist from Tokyo, compatriot Manoj Sarkar. The next two matches turned out to be much easier as he defeated Yang Jianyuan of China and Thailand’s Mongkhon Bunsun to top the group and enter the semifinals. In the semis, he dispatched Japanese Daisuke Fujihara 21-16, 21-12. In the final, the 29-year-old defeated Brit Daniel Bethell 21-14, 18-21, 23-21 to clinch gold. The Indian put on a stunning display of stroke play combined with a strong defence securing his first victory over the Tokyo Paralympics silver medalist in 10 meetings.

3- Praveen Kumar

Tokyo Paralympics silver medallist, Praveen Kumar, managed to change the colour of his medal in Paris and won the gold medal in the men’s high jump T64 event. His best jump on the day measured 2.08m, helping him smash the Asian Area Record.

It was sweet redemption for the lad from Govindgarh, MP, after he had finished fourth at the World Championships earlier this year with a jump of 1.94m, the Indian successfully achieved all his jumps in his very first attempt! His first unsuccessful attempt came only when the bar was raised to 2.10m, by which time the 23-year-old was already assured of a gold.

4- Harvinder Singh

Harvinder Singh became the first Indian archer to secure a Paralympic gold medal. After being seeded ninth following the ranking rounds, Harvinder had a shaky start in the Round of 32 against Tseng Lung-Hui of Chinese Taipei but managed to secure a 7-3 victory. He, however, settled down in a 6-2 victory against Indonesia’s Setiawan. This was followed by a win by an identical margin against Colombian Hector Julio Ramirez in the quarterfinals. With a 7-3 win against Iranian fourth seed Mohammed Reza Arab Ameri in the semi-final, Harvinder was assured of an upgrade on his medal won at Tokyo. The archer from Kaithal, Haryana had reserved his best performance for the final, securing a 6-0 win against Pole Lukasz Ciszek. Stunningly, all of his nine arrows in the gold medal tie landed in the yellow zone.

5- Sumit Antil

Sumit Antil shattered the Games record and successfully defended his title at the Tokyo Paralympics in Paris. Having broken his world record thrice, three years ago in Tokyo, he achieved a whopping distance of 70.59m to win a second consecutive Paralympic gold. The 26-year-old started with a distance of 69.11m and achieved his best throw of the night in his second attempt. This was followed by a throw of 66.66m, before registering a foul on the next attempt. Sumit then achieved distances measuring 69.04m and 66.57m in his last two attempts.

INDIA’s PARALYMPIC WINNERS

India’s outstanding performance in Paris created a milestone for the country’s para-athletes, inspiring a generation of aspiring athletes. With strong showings across a range of disciplines, including athletics, archery, badminton, and shooting, India’s Paralympic journey is expected to gather further momentum heading into the 2028 Los Angeles Games.