It’s true that miracles happen, and one did occur in Paris. (Full Coverage | More Sports News)
India’s performance at the Paris Paralympics 2024 was a truly magical chapter. Let's relive the record-breaking medal haul of 29, the youngest-ever archer Sheetal Devi shattering the world record, Praveen Kumar jumping high above all, Harvinder Singh’s gold in archery, Nitesh Kumar’s badminton mastery, and shooter Avani Lekhara's back-to-back triumph... a story of pure thrill and awe to remember in the history of the Games for years to come.
With 7 gold, 9 silver, and 13 bronze medals India wrapped up its campaign on 18th position, the best-ever, with plenty to celebrate setting the stage for a happy four-year wait until Los Angeles.
Here's a detailed analysis on how the 84-para athletes in the Indian contingent fared at the Paris Paralympics 2024 in each sport
India's Performance At Paris Paralympics
Comparing India’s performances at the Paris and Tokyo Paralympics reveals a plot of massive progress. In Paris 2024, Indian para-athletes participated in 12 sports and secured 29 medals, which is an increase of three sports and 10 medals from Tokyo.
Badminton - 5 Medals For India
In badminton, India made a beautiful mark by claiming five medals—one gold, two silver, and two bronze—delivering an impressive and surprising performance overall, with new legends emerging.
India Men Para Shuttlers
Nitesh Kumar secured gold in the Men’s Singles SL3, while Manoj Sarkar unfortunately exited at the group stage.
Suhas Yathiraj who is also an IAS officer from the 2007 Uttar Pradesh cadre showcased dominance throughout the campaign but had to settle for a silver after losing in the final. The semi-final witnessed an all-Indian affair between Suhas and Sukant Kadam. Tarun Dhillon, on the other hand, failed to advance past the quarter-finals in the same category.
In the Men’s Singles SH6, Krishna Nagar, who had brought home gold from Tokyo 2020, was unable to progress beyond the group stage, with Sivarajan Sovalaimali also falling short of expectations.
India Women Para Shuttlers
Now, speaking of the women para shuttlers, they lived up to expectations.
Manasi Joshi made it to the round of 16 in Women’s Singles SL3 but didn’t advance further, while Mandeep Kaur reached the quarterfinals only to lose it.
In Women’s Singles SL4, Palak Kohli also fell short, losing in the quarterfinals.
However, in Women’s Singles SU6, the Indian shuttlers went far beyond the scares: Thulasimathi Murugesan took silver, and Manisha Ramadas earned bronze.
Nithya Sivan contributed to the medal tally with a bronze in Women’s Singles SH6.
Shooting - 3 Medals
In shooting, all eyes were on Avani Lekhara, who clinched yet another gold, making history as India’s first woman to win multiple gold medals at the Games, let alone Paralympics. Nine para shooters and four medals, isn't that incredible?
Women Shooters
Avani Lekhara won gold in the R2 10m Air Rifle SH1 event, while Mona Agarwal secured the bronze. However, in the R8 50m Rifle 3 Positions SH1 event, neither of the shooters reached the podium.
Avani and Mona also fell short in the mixed team events: Avani, paired with Sidhartha Babu in the R3 10m Air Rifle Prone SH1, and Mona too teamed with Babu in the R6 50m Rifle Prone SH1, did not advance to the finals.
Rubina Francis secured the third shooting medal for India with a bronze in the P2 10m Air Pistol SH1 event.
Men Shooters
In the men's events, Manish Narwal brought home a shining silver in the P1 10m Air Pistol SH1. However, Rudransh Khandelwal and Swaroop Unkhalkar did not advance to the finals.
In the mixed events, Nihal Singh, paired with Amir Bhat in the P3 25m Pistol SH1, and Nihal Singh, teamed with Rudransh Khandelwal in the same category, both fell short of reaching the finals.
Archery - History And 2 Medals
India's Youngster Sheetal Devi
Archery brought a wave of surprises for India at the Paris Paralympics. Sheetal Devi, the 17-year-old armless archer, captured hearts with her remarkable performance. While she was eliminated in the round of 16 in the women’s individual compound event, it worked as a preparation for what was waiting in the mixed team event. She earned bronze in the compound mixed team event along with Rakesh Kumar. The duo ended up shattering the world record in the qualification scoring 1399.
The Golden Man Harvinder Singh
And who can forget Harvinder Singh, who made history by claiming gold in the men's individual recurve archery, becoming the only Indian man to win a gold medal in archery at the Paralympics or Summer Games. Unfortunately, in the mixed team event, along with Pooja Jatyan, the Indian archers finished fourth missing on the bronze medal.
Other performers did not manage to leave a mark. Shyam Sundar Swami and Sarita Adhana both failed to advance to the finals in their respective individual compound events.
India entered the archery competition with six athletes and exited with two medals of different colours. A memorable chapter, indeed.
Athletics - A Beautiful Chapter
Athletics at the Paris Paralympics was nothing short of spectacular! It was a rollercoaster of emotions—magical moments, heartbreaks, gold, silver, bronze, and everything in between. With 38 para athletes representing India, the nation returned with an impressive 17 medals, spanning all colours. What an incredible journey it has been!
Preethi Pal stands out as the only athlete from India to win two medals in Paris, securing bronze in both the Women’s 100m T35 and the Women’s 200m T35.
Simran Sharma finished fourth in the Women’s 100m T12 but made a strong comeback to claim bronze in the Women’s 200m T12.
Deepthi Jeevanji also contributed to India’s medal tally with a bronze in the Women’s 400m T20.
Unfortunately, the other two Indian athletes on the track, Rakshitha Raju in the Women’s 1500m and Dilip Gavit in the Men’s 400m T47, did not make it to the podium.
Now let's talk about India's gold winners in athletics!
Dharambir Nain not only claimed gold in the Club Throw F51 with a mark of 34.92 but also shattered the Asian record. His compatriot Pranav Soorma secured the silver with a throw of 34.59m, highlighting India's dominance on both the field and the podium.
Praveen Kumar set a new Asian record with a jump of 2.08m to win gold in the Men's High Jump T64 event.
Navdeep Singh achieved a personal best of 47.32m in the Javelin Throw F41, initially earning silver. However, with the disqualification of the Iranian competitor, he was awarded gold.
Sumit Antil won gold in the Men’s Javelin Throw F64 with a throw of 70.59m.
India secured four gold medals in athletics.
Silver Medalists In Athletics Field Events
Yogesh Kathuniya: Men’s Discus Throw F56
Nishad Kumar: Men’s High Jump T47
Sharad Kumar: Men’s High Jump T63
Sachin Khilari: Men’s Shot Put F46
Ajeet Singh: Men’s Javelin Throw F46
Pranav Soorma: Men’s Club Throw F51
Bronze Medalists In Atheltics Field Events
Deepthi Jeevanji: Women’s 400m T20
Mariyappan Thangavelu: Men’s High Jump T63
Sundar Singh Gurjar: Men’s Javelin Throw F46
Hokato Hotozhe: Men’s Shot Put F57
Simran Sharma: Women’s 200m T12
Cycling - Disappointment
India had two para cyclists in Paris, Arshad Shaik and Jyoti Gaderiya. Unfortunately, neither managed to qualify for the finals in any of the para cycling events.
Powerlifting - Improvements (No Medals)
In powerlifting, India had four competitors, but none met expectations. Here are their final standings:
Paramjeet Kumar: 8th place in Men’s -49 kg
Ashok Malik: 6th place in Men’s -65 kg
Sakina Khatun: 7th place in Women’s -45 kg
Kasthuri Rajamani: 8th place in Women’s -67 kg
Rowing - The Only Indian Boat
Although the score wasn’t stellar, India had a presence on the water at the Paris Paralympics. Anita and Narayana Konganapalle competed in the PR3 Mixed Double Sculls and made it to the finals, finishing in eighth place. This achievement is still a positive outcome for Indian rowing.
Canoe - The Hope Dashed
With Prachi Yadav qualifying for the finals of the Women’s VL2, India harbored renewed hope for a medal in para canoeing for the first time. However, fate brought a tinge of heartbreak as she finished last in the final with a time of 1:08:55.
Other competitors, Yash Kumar in the Men’s KL1 and Pooja Ojha in the Women’s KL1, did not advance past the preliminary rounds.
Swimming - Disappointment
Suyash Jadhav, the lone swimmer representing India at the Paris Paralympics, finished last in the 50m Butterfly S7 event, ending India’s swimming campaign.
Taekwondo - No Medal
Aruna Tanwar was India’s sole warrior in para taekwondo. Competing in the Women’s –47 kg event, she crashed out in the first round by her Turkish opponent.
Judo - Light In The Dark
Amid the challenges, there was a bright spot in judo with the blind judoka Kapil Parmar securing a bronze in the Men’s J1 -60 kg category. However, Kokila Kaushik, competing in the Women’s J2 -48 kg, was unable to advance past the early rounds.
The 24-year-old Kapil who lives with vision impairment in the world that is blind to him, lit up the darkness by clinching India's first medal in Judo at the Games.
Table Tennis - Shadows
India's performance in table tennis at the Paris Paralympics was underwhelming. With only two athletes competing—Sonalben Patel and Bhavina Patel—neither advancing to the finals.
In the Women’s Individual C3, Sonalben Patel was eliminated in the Round of 32. Bhavina Patel, competing in the Women’s Individual C4, was knocked out in the quarterfinals. In the Women’s Doubles D10 event, the pair lost their quarterfinal match to the Korean team.
That's how the Indian contingent of 84 para athletes performed across the 12 different sports at the Paris Paralympics 2024, achieving a historic feat. Check out the complete medal tally HERE.
