India look to build on Tokyo’s gain at Paris Paralympics

NEW DELHI: Tokyo Paralympics 2020 was richly rewarding for the country’s para athletes with India winning an astonishing 19 medals, including five gold, to finish 24th among 162 participating nations.
Till Rio 2016, India had won a total of 12 medals at the Paralympics. Also, it took the country 32 years to secure its second individual gold medal after para swimmer Murlikant Petkar’s heroics at the 1972 Heidelberg Paralympics.Para javelin thrower Devendra Jhajharia, who is now the Paralympics Committee of India’s (PCI) president, brought home the gold glory in 2004 at the Athens Paralympics.
After making its debut at the Paralympic Games in 1968, India has been a regular participant since 1984. However, it was only after the Rio Games that India’s performance at both the para multisport and international events witnessed an upward trajectory. At the Hangzhou para Asiad 2022, India’s created history winning an unprecedented 111 medals, including 29 gold.
In Tokyo, India had sent 54 athletes across nine disciplines. This time, India has sent its largest-ever contingent to the Paris Paralympics comprising 84 athletes all set to leave their mark on the world’s biggest sporting stage. The country will also be participating in a record 12 disciplines — as compared to nine sports disciplines it competed in at the Tokyo Games.
This expansion includes the addition of cycling, rowing and blind judo. The other disciplines are archery, athletics, badminton, canoeing, powerlifting, shooting, swimming, table tennis and taekwondo, showcasing the growing diversity and talent of India’s differently abled sportspersons.
India will look to move beyond the mixed emotions it experienced at the Paris Olympics where despite some high expectations, the country’s athletes put on an underwhelming show and returned home with six medals.
At the Paralympics, expectations are high from the contingent with Jhajharia – the most decorated Paralympian of the country with two individual gold and a silver – coining an ambitious slogan ‘Abki Baar 25 Paar (this time the target is to win more than 25 medals)’. The Games will begin from Thursday and will continue until Sep 8.
India will be banking on some of the proven performers and promising newcomers to record its best-ever medal tally in Paris. Para shooter Avani Lekhara, who became the first Indian woman to win a Paralympic gold after her ground-breaking performance in Tokyo, para javelin thrower Sumit Antil, who broke the world record three times en route his gold-winning show in the previous edition, para badminton star Krishna Nagar, who will be looking to defend his gold from Tokyo, para table tennis player Bhavinaben Patel, who clinched India’s first Paralympic medal in TT after bagging a silver in Tokyo and para archer Sheetal Devi, who did the nation proud by clinching two gold at the Hangzhou Asiad, are among the country's biggest medal hopes in Paris.
Rio and Tokyo para Games put India firmly on the Paralympic map. In Paris, the nation will look to continue its growth in para sports and aim to finish in the top 10 among all participant countries.