After a not-so-encouraging show at the Paris Olympics, India’s para-athletes brought cheers to the country’s sporting community with a record-smashing medal haul of 29 in the Paris Paralympics Games
Seven of these 29 medals were gold, another first for the country. India made 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 medals, a number that was surpassed this time.
In addition, many of the medal-winning performances in Paris were record efforts and personal bests, demonstrating that the athletes have made significant progress.
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 again dominated by China with over 200 medals.
India is still far 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 part 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.
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 whose 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 the medal 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 later in his life to make ends meet but he turned things around and how.
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 never to give up.
She became a crowd favorite in Paris leaving everyone in awe using her legs instead of arms to hit the bullseye.
Harvinder kept his nerve under extreme pressure to land the first-ever gold for India in archery, also changing the color 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 the 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.
Javelin thrower Sumit Antil, whose left leg was amputated after an accident, broke his Paralympic record for a second successive javelin gold while wheelchair-bound rifle shooter Avani Lekhara dominated the field in the air rifle SH1 final.
A gold also came from the badminton court via Kumar Nitesh who piped 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.
Article Credit: cardbiz