The doors were shut on yet another Paralympics campaign on Sunday, September 8, in Paris, with a spectacular closing ceremony. (Full Coverage|More Sports News)
The Indian para-athletes went beyond what was destined, showcased fight, resilience, determination, and displayed a record-breaking performance that saw them take home 29 medals.
Here we look at few of the takeaways from India’s Paris Paralympics campaign
1. Record Medal Haul
India scripted a sensational Paralympic campaign at the 2024 Paris Games, securing a total of 29 medals - seven gold, nine silver, and 13 bronze. The historic achievement helped India surpass their last record-medal haul from Tokyo.
It also helped the nation cross the 50-medal mark at the Summer Games. In Tokyo, three years ago, India managed to win five gold, eight silver and six bronze medals. Before that in Rio, the overall medal count was four. There has been a promising rise, and an inspirational one that sees them already dreaming about Los Angeles.
2. Record Female Participation
Out of the 84-member Indian contingent, 32 of them were women para-athletes, which is a record number in terms of participation for the country.
Eight years ago, at Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil, it was just a single medal as Deepa Malik created history by becoming the first Indian female Paralympic medallist. When the Indian contingent flew to Tokyo, Avani Lekhara and Bhavina Patel won three medals among them.
At the 2024 Paralympics, the number skyrocketed as the Indian women brought home a total of 11 medals. That, perhaps, is the biggest takeaway from the campaign as they also finished 18th on the medal tally with 29 medals (seven golds), going past Tokyo’s 19 medal-tally with (five golds), where India had finished 24th.
3. Athletics High
India had clinched eight medals in athletics in Tokyo, three years ago. A great rise would have been 12 medals four years later in Paris. However, in a historic run, India’s athletic medal count (17) almost touched Tokyo’s (19) overall count. For the first time, India also won medals in track events.
Preeti Pal claimed two bronze medals in 100m T35 and 200m T35 events, while Deepti Devanji took bronze in the women’s 400m T20 event. Simran Sharma rounded it off with a bronze in the women’s 200m T12 event.
Sumit Antil and Navdeep Singh won gold medals in men’s javelin F64 and F41 events, respectively. Adding to it, the country also won gold in the men’s club throw in the men’s F51 category, thanks to Dharambir.
4. Missed Opportunities
India is still far, far away from becoming a medal-sweeping machine at the Paralympics level, but the country has surely emerged to be a force with its meteoric rise as the numbers speak for itself.
With the future looking bright for Indian para-athletes, the country can dream about finishing much higher in the medal tally if it manages to nurture a pool of para-swimmers, with just one featuring in Paris.
5. What's Next?
The performance graph from Rio to Paris has been a successful one, and it is expected to only go higher after the inspirational performance at the French capital.
There are many who believe that with continued support, right facilities, proper guidance, India has the potential to be in the top 5 of the medal tally at the Los Angeles Paris Paralympics in 2028.
Despite it being a daring prediction, it also highlights the confidence and belief of the contingent, who are ready to put in the work, day-and-night, clutching on to their dreams.
