At the Paris 2024 Games India achieved their most successful performance in paralympic history. In the Paris Paralympic 2024, India secured a total of 29 medals from which seven gold medals, nine silver medals, and thirteen bronze medals. From Tokyo 2020, 19 medals were achieved including five gold medals, surpassing the Paris 2024 achievements. India also has crossed the 50-medal mark in their Paralympic history.
From August 28 to September 8 the Paris 2024 Paralympics held in the French capital, India was represented by a record 84 para-athletes in it. Across 12 disciplines completed by India, which is three more than at Tokyo 2020. Para rowing, para-cycling, and blind judo are three new sports in which Indian para-athletes participated in Paris 2024.
At the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games India had some impressive performances.
At the Paralympic Games, the first Indian woman to win two gold medals was Avani Lekhara, in the women’s 10m air rifle standing SH1 shooting event she defended her title with a world record score.
For the first time, India recorded a one-two in athletics, with Parnav Soorma and Dharambir clinching silver and gold. They Won this in the men’s club throw F51 event. A new Asian record of 34.92m was also set by Dharambir. Later, Praveen Kumar fetched India’s sixth gold medal, their highest ever at the Paralympics, and also logged an Asian record to win the high jump T64 title.
Read This: A Look at India’s Performance in Paris Paralympics
Javelin ace Sumit Antil too at the Paralympics made history as the first Indian man to defend his title, with a stunning throw of 70.59m he won a gold medal in the men’s javelin throw F64 —a new Paralympic record. Remarkably, During the competition his own previous record was broken by Sumit, set at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. He broke his own record not once but three times.
By winning a gold medal at Rio 2016, a silver at Tokyo 2020, and a bronze medal in this Paralympics Mariyappan Thangavelu became the first Indian to win medals at three consecutive Paralympics.
A bronze medal in the women’s 100m T35 race was secured by Preethi Pal with a best time. At the Paralympics in a track event, it was India’s first-ever medal. And also, by securing a bronze medal in 200m she became India’s most successful athlete at the Games because she was the only one to secure two medals.
In all, at the Paris 2024 in track event, India won four medals. It included Deepthi Jeevanji, who won a bronze in the women’s 400m T20 class and became the first intellectually impaired Indian athlete to win a Paralympic medal.
In archery, records were set too. Armless archer Sheetal Devi before finishing in second place briefly set a world record in the ranking round. But later to achieve a world record score in the compound mixed team qualification event she teamed up with Rakesh Kumar. Along with Rakesh, Sheetal at just 17 years old secured bronze in the mixed team event and made history as India’s youngest Paralympic medallist.
Later, in Harvinder Singh India found their first-ever Paralympic archery champion.
