A record medal haul of 29 will let the Indian athletes look back at the Paris Paralympic Games 2024 with a lot of pride. Having come into the Games with its largest contingent of 84, the Indian athletes displayed unparalleled resolute to shine bright in the French capital.
After the last-standing athlete Pooja Ojha couldn't qualify for the final in the women's kayak single 200m KL1 sprint canoeing event, India's campaign came to an end on Sunday. The 29 medals include seven gold, nine silver and 13 bronze as India surpassed their previous best of 19 medals in the Tokyo Games by some distance.
Navdeep Singh gave seventh gold to India
Navdeep Singh gave India their seventh gold medal at the Paralympics 2024 after his silver was upgraded in the men's javelin F41 category. The initial gold medallist Beit Sadegh of ran was disqualified for unsporting conduct, which propelled the Indian to the top of the podium in the event.
India clinch 17 medals in track and field events
India bagged medals in five out of 12 sports the athletes competed in. A whopping number of 17 medals came in the track and field events with some firsts in the track event. Preethi Pal clinched the nation's first-ever track medal with a bronze in 100m T35 before doubling it up with another third-place finish in the 200m event. Deepthi Jeevanji also bagged a bronze in the women's 400m T20 for another track medal.
Medals also came in club throw with an Indian one-two finish. Dharambir and Pranav Soorma bagged gold and silver, respectively in the F51 club throw.
There was joy in judo too with Kapil Parmar bringing India's first-ever Paralympics medal at the Summer Games. The archers displayed nerves of metal in a historic performance at the Games. Harvinder Singh became India's first-ever gold medallist in archery at the Paralympics with a medal in the recurve event. Notably, the mixed pair of Sheetal Devi and Rakesh Kumar also bagged a bronze for India.
Sumit Antil, and Avani Lekhara defend their gold
Winning one gold takes a lot of effort but defending it is a thing of a different level. Sumti Antil and Avani Lekhara have done what no Indian could do in the Paralympics. Avani, who won the gold medal in Women's 10m air rifle standing SH1 at Tokyo, defended her gold at the same event in Paris. She became the first Indian to win gold medals in back-to-back Paralympic Games.
Sumit Antil followed suit soon, defending his gold in the Men's javelin throw F64 event to become the second Indian with gold medals in successive Paralympics.
India's show at the Paralympic Games 2024 was a historic one and it marked that the nation is emerging as a powerhouse at the Games for the specially-abled athletes.
