New Delhi: The Paris Paralympics 2024 culminated on Sunday after nearly two weeks of sporting action as India achieved their best-ever medal haul on the back of the 84-member contingent. A total of 29 medals were won out of which seven were gold, nine silver, and 13 bronze. India registered a record seven gold medals and went on to better their previous best tally of 19 medals achieved at the Tokyo Paralympics.
Of the 29 medals, a few of them were indeed unexpected for it was never imagined that a medal (or a gold) could be achieved in any of those particular categories of the sports. Several of such para-athletes stunned the countrymen by leaving an indelible mark in the marquee event with their sheer will and dedication. The nation competed in across 12 disciplines, three more than Tokyo. Out of those 12, three were totally new sports – para-cycling, para-rowing, and blind judo.
Nonetheless, let’s take a look at all the medals that arrived unexpectedly and surprised the nation as the 84-member delegation ensured plenty of firsts for India in Paralympic history.
Unexpected medals
1. Preethi Pal – The 23 year old sprinter scripted history when she became the first woman to bag a track medal at the Paralympics. She clinched two bronze medals in Paris – in the 100 T35 and 200m T35 classes. The category T35 involves players who have coordination impairments such as ataxia, hypertonia, and athetosis. She was born with weak legs and the condition worsened as she grew up.
2. Kapil Parmar – India participated for the first time in blind Judo and got a first-ever medal via Kapil Parmar who secured a bronze in men’s 60kg J1 class. Parmar’s achievement is another remarkable story of lifting themself from a life-altering accident as he was electrocuted in his childhood while playing in the village field. He was forced to sell tea to make ends meet with affected vision but successfully turned things around.
3. Harvinder Singh – Although he bagged a bronze medal at the previous edition of the Paralympics, nobody thought that the archer would shoot his way to a gold in Paris. He became the first-ever Paralympic champion in archery for India. He kept his nerve under extreme pressure to give India a path-breaking first gold in archery. A local doctor had administered an injection that resulted in partial disability of Harvinder’s legs.
4. Dharambir and Pranav Soorma – Even Dharambir’s medal-winning effort wasn’t on the “expected” cards as he gave India another remarkable victory in club throw where he clinched a gold and shared the podium with compatriot Pranav Soorma who bagged a silver in the same F51 event. A diving accident paralysed Dharambir from the waist down while Pranav, a quadriplegic, had his spinal cord injured when a cement sheet fell on his head at the age of 16.
5. Sheetal Devi – The 17-year-old archer was born without arms and the world wondered how would she shoot if not with arms. He was a hope to millions of Indians and went on to claim a bronze in the mixed-team compound event with Rakesh Kumar. She became a crowd favourite for hitting the bull’s eye using her legs instead of arms, leaving everyone in awe. Fans were disappointed as she narrowly lost her 1/8 elimination clash in the singles event.
6. Navdeep Singh – The 23-year-old javelin thrower was born with a short stature but didn’t let the fact deter him from pursuing his passion for athletics. He initially claimed a silver medal in the men’s F41 javelin event which was upgraded to gold after Iranian athlete Sadegh Beit Sayah (original gold medal winner) was disqualified. This led to a historic gold medal win for India in the category and Navdeep’s first-ever Paralympic medal.
India bagged a total of 29 medals at the Paris Paralympics and a few of them were indeed unexpected as the nation either participated in a fresh event or had never won a medal in respective category of the sport. Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
