With a contingent of 84 athletes, young and seasoned, and an anticipation of bringing 25 medals home, this year’s Paralympics is set to see the biggest Indian contingent in Paris, starting from August 28.
India is set to compete in 12 sports including, archery, athletics, badminton, canoeing, cycling, blind judo, powerlifting, rowing, shooting, swimming, table tennis, and taekwondo.
In the Tokyo Olympics, the group of 54 athletes brought 19 medals, with five golds, eight silver, and six bronzes and was called India’s best rendition at the Paralympics in 2021. In the Hangzhou Asian Para Games, 2023, India clinched 11 medals.
India is hoping to carry this momentum at the Paris Para Games as well, said the chief of the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) Devendra Jhajharia.
Jhajharia, himself a two-time gold medalist expressed his confidence and said, “This is the biggest contingent India has ever sent to the Paralympics. We are very confident about the overall performance and are sure to win more than 25 medals.”
“Most of our athletes are in excellent shape, having trained rigorously for this event. We expect outstanding results, and they are ready to make India proud,” the PCI president said.
The oldest in India team:
The team has a flavour of young and experienced players. Many of them are participating in their second or third Paralympics. Amit Kumar Sariha, the F51 category discuss throw player, will be representing India for the fourth time.
The 39-year-old Asian Para Games athlete is the oldest on the continent.
Youngest:
The youngest athlete is a 17-year-old archer who shoots with her legs instead of her hands, Sheetal Devi.
Devi made rounds on the internet when she won gold medals in individual and mixed team events in archery at the 2023 Asian Para Games.
What to expect?
Avni Lekhara’s archery event could give chills to the nerves as she became the first woman to clinch a gold medal in the Paralympics in Tokyo, in 2021.
She won the medal in the SH1 standing 10m air rifle event with a total of 249.6 points. She in the same edition also won Bronze in SH1 50 m 3-position event.
All of this and she wasn’t even in 20. Lekhara will be showcasing her exceptional talent in the same event at the Paris Paralympics as well.
Bhavina Patel’s smashing history at the table tennis event in Tokyo, which made her the first Indian paddler to win a medal in TT, in the Paralympics.
The 35-year-old marked history in the games, when she clinched silver after losing to Zhou Ying in a Gold medal match.
In this edition of the Paris Paralympics, Patel will also be seen playing with her paddle in doubles event as well.
Nishad Kumar’s high jump to clinch silver in the Tokyo Games witnessed him breaking his record of 2.06m jump which was created in the Asian Games.
He lost to USA’s Roderick Townsend-Roberts, who made a jump of 2.15 m and claimed himself a Gold medal. This year Kumar’s loftiness will be more than eye-catching.
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