New Delhi: The Paris Paralympics 2024 will take centerstage from August 28 till September 8 as a total of 170 nations take part in the Summer Games meant for specially-abled athletes across the world. India will take the field in a bid to return home with their best-ever medal tally. In the previous edition (2020) held in Tokyo, India bagged 19 medals which is their best-ever Paralympic outing so far.
This will be the 17th edition of the Paralympics and India have taken part in 12 editions so far, bringing medals in just six of them. The 84-member contingent (52 men and 32 women) sent by India to the French capital is the largest ever in the history of the Games. India last sent 54 athletes to the Tokyo Paralympics out of which only 14 were women athletes.
Looking back in history, out of several medal winners of India at the Paralympics, five have won more than one medal. Devendra Jhajharia, Mariyappan Thangavelu, Avani Lekhara, Joginder Singh Bedi, and Singhraj Adhana are the part of that elite list. India debuted at the Summer Paralympics in 1968 and has been a regular participant since 1984. India have a total of 31 Paralympic medals to their credit.
Complete list of medals won by India at the Paralympics
1972 Paralympics, Heidelberg
Murlikant Petkar – Gold (Swimming – Men’s 50m Freestyle 3)
1984 Paralympics, Stoke Mandeville/New York
Joginder Singh Bedi – Silver (Athletics – Men’s Shot Put L6)
Joginder Singh Bedi – Bronze (Athletics – Men’s Javelin L6)
Joginder Singh Bedi – Bronze (Athletics – Men’s Discus Throw L6)
Bhimrao Kesarkar – Silver (Athletics – Men’s Javelin L6)
2004 Paralympics, Athens
Rajinder Singh Rahelu – Bronze (Powerlifting – Men’s 56kg)
Devendra Jhajharia – Gold (Athletics – Men’s Javelin F44/46)
2012 Paralympics, London
Girish Nagarajegowda – Silver (Athletics – Men’s High Jump F42)
2016 Paralympics, Rio
Deepa Malik – Silver (Athletics – Women’s Shot Put F53)
Mariyappan Thagavelu – Gold (Athletics – Men’s High Jump F42)
Varun Singh Bhati – Bronze (Men’s High Jump F42)
Devendra Jhajharia – Gold (Athletics – Men’s Javelin F46)
2020 Paralympics, Tokyo
Avani Lekhara – Gold (Shooting – Women’s 10m Air Rifle SH1)
Sumit Antil – Gold (Athletics – Men’s Javelin F64)
Manish Narwal – Gold (Shooting – Mixed 50m Pistol SH1)
Pramod Bhagat – Gold (Badminton – Men’s Singles SL3)
Krishna Nagar – Gold (Badminton – Men’s Singles SH6)
Sundar Singh Gurjar – Bronze (Athletics – Men’s Javelin F46)
Singhraj Adhana – Bronze (Shooting – Men’s 10m Air Pistol SH1)
Sharad Kumar – Bronze (Athletics – Men’s High Jump T63)
Avani Lekhara – Bronze (Shooting – Women’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions SH1)
Harvinder Singh – Bronze (Archery – Men’s Individual Recurve Open)
Manoj Sarkar – Bronze (Badminton – Men’s Singles SL3)
Bhavina Patel – Silver (Table Tennis – Women’s Singles C4)
Nishad Kumar – Silver (Athletics – Men’s High Jump T47)
Yogesh Kathuniya – Silver (Athletics – Men’s Discus Throw F56)
Devendra Jhajharia – Silver (Athletics – Men’s Javelin Throw F46)
Mariyappan Thangavelu – Silver (Athletics – Men’s High Jump T63)
Praveen Kumar – Silver (Athletics – Men’s High Jump T64)
Singhraj Adhana – Silver (Shooting – Men’s 50m Pistol SH1)
Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj – Silver (Badminton – Men’s Singles SL4)
Out of 16 editions of the Paralympics held so far, India have participated in 12 editions and have brought medals in just six of them. Here’s the complete list of the Indian medal winners at the Paralympics. Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
