New Delhi: After nearly two weeks of sporting action, the Paris Paralympics 2024 came to a close with a vibrant and glorious closing ceremony held at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis on Sunday. India were represented by medal-winners Harvinder Singh and Preethi Pal in the “Parade of Nations” where they held the Indian flag high as the flag-bearers of the nation which recorded its best-ever medal haul.
The show took off with several musical and dance performances, and we also saw the traditional parade where medal-winners of each of the participating nations represented their country as flag-bearers. Over 4400 athletes from 168 delegations participated in what was a musical fest at the historic stadium. During the parade, Harvinder and Preethi lead charge of the nation waved the Indian tricolour.
Watch the video here –
The closing ceremony for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games is underway at the Stade de France, with Ellen Keane and Michael Murphy the Irish flag-bearers. Watch it live now on @RTE2 and @RTEPlayer https://t.co/b2OI4OoWVJ #Paralympics pic.twitter.com/bBKsje3XhO
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) September 8, 2024
Catch the latest visuals📷 from Paris as our history-makers, our #Para Champions are all set to represent 🇮🇳 at the 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 during the closing ceremony at the #ParisParalympics2024🇫🇷.
Let’s #Cheer4Bharat chant one last time and send all our love &… pic.twitter.com/kygREomXPV
— SAI Media (@Media_SAI) September 8, 2024
Harvinder won a gold medal in the men’s individual recurve open, becoming India’s first-ever Paralympic champion in archery.
Preethi Pal achieved her personal best timing of 14.21 seconds in the women’s 100m T35 event to clinch a bronze medal. She doubled it up with another bronze in the 200m event. She also became India’s first woman to win a track medal at the Paralympics.
During the ceremony, French electronic music took centerstage, and several athletes shook their legs. The ceremony also had the traditional Handover ceremony where the mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo handed over the Paralympic flag to the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) president Andrew Parsons who passed it on to Karen Bass, the mayor of Los Angeles, which will host the next Summer Games in 2028. The Paralympic flame was extinguished which officially culminated the showpiece event.
As the flames fade, the spirit of the Games will forever shine in Paris ✨#Paralympics | #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/CkA926rj1t
— Paralympic Games (@Paralympics) September 8, 2024
Breaking takes centre stage at the Closing Ceremony with dancers of all abilities, set to DJ Cut Killer’s beats. A celebration of diversity, creativity, and the success of breaking at Paris 2024 🪩 #Paralympics | #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/6La0ZyRhwH
— Paralympic Games (@Paralympics) September 8, 2024
Renowned French singer Santa mesmerised the crowd with her delightful performance while Andre Feydy played the French national anthem – the Marseillaise. All the nations in the parade were welcomed by the band of Republican Guards.
How did India fare at the Paris Paralympics?
The 84-member Indian delegation recorded nation’s best-ever medal haul winning 29 medals at the marquee event out of which seven were gold, nine silver, and 13 bronze. The nation competed in across 12 disciplines, which is three more than Tokyo. The Indian para-athletes participated in three new sports at Paris 2024 – para-cycling, para-rowing, and blind judo.
𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐬 🤩🫡
India’s para athletes achieve their best-ever performance with a stunning 2⃣9⃣ medals🥳👏
7⃣🥇
9⃣🥈
1⃣3⃣🥉 and #TeamIndia is in 🔝2⃣0⃣☑️ for the very 1⃣st time.
Let’s #Cheer4Bharat🇮🇳 with all our might and support our heroes💪 pic.twitter.com/7ijk41zJGf
— SAI Media (@Media_SAI) September 8, 2024
Paralympics 2024 have been special and historical.
India is overjoyed that our incredible para-athletes have brought home 29 medals, which is the best ever performance since India’s debut at the Games.
This achievement is due to the unwavering dedication and indomitable spirit… pic.twitter.com/tME7WkFgS3
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 8, 2024
It is for the very first time that seven gold medals were brought home as India bettered their previous best tally of 19 medals which was achieved at the Tokyo Paralympics.
The Paris Paralympics 2024 came to an end on Sunday with the iconic “Parade of Nations” in the closing ceremony where Indian flag-bearers Harvinder Singh and Preethi Pal waved the Indian tricolor high. Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
