The Paris Paralympics 2024, which commenced on August 28th with the official opening ceremony (events starting from August 29th) and will conclude on September 8th, has witnessed a strong performance from India. The country currently holds a commendable 15 medals, including three golds.
Sumit Antil, showcasing exceptional skill, secured India’s third gold medal in the men’s javelin throw F64 with a Paralympic record of 70.59m. Nitesh Kumar added another gold to India’s tally by winning the men’s singles SL3 event in para badminton. Further success came in the form of silver and bronze medals for Thulasimathi Murugesan and Manisha Ramadass, respectively, in the women’s singles SU5 event. Nithya Sre clinched bronze in the women’s singles SH6 category after defeating Rani Marlina of Indonesia, bringing India’s medal count to 15.
India’s eighth medal at the Paralympics came with Yogesh Kathuniya winning silver in the men’s discus F56 final. Suhas Yathiraj, unfortunately, lost to Lucas Mazur in the gold medal match in men’s singles SL4 category. However, the Indian para archers Sheetal Devi and Rakesh Kumar brought home a bronze medal after defeating Italy’s Eleonora Sarti and Matteo Bonacina 156-155 in the bronze medal match, marking India’s second para archery medal after Harvinder Singh’s bronze in Tokyo.
Previously, Nishad Kumar secured second place in the men’s high jump T47 final, and Preethi Pal won a bronze medal in the women’s 200m T35 event. India also boasts four medals in shooting, with Avani Lekhara claiming a gold, Mona Agarwal winning bronze in the women’s 10m air rifle standing SH1, Manish Narwal bagging silver in men’s 10m air pistol SH1, and Rubina Francis winning bronze in the P2 Women’s 10m Air Pistol SH1.
The Paris Paralympics, featuring 4,400 athletes from across the globe, has 549 medal events across 22 sports. China currently leads the medal tally with 87 medals, followed by Great Britain and the USA with 29 and 13 gold medals, respectively. India is currently ranked 10th in the medal standings.
