Indian para-athletes have achieved a historic milestone at the Paris Paralympics by surpassing their previous highest medal tally of 19 from the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. With 20 medals now secured, including three gold, seven silver, and ten bronze, India has set a new record for the most medals won in a single Paralympic Games and could potentially add more to their count.
Record Medal Haul
On Monday and Tuesday, India’s athletes won 13 medals, pushing their total to a record 20. In comparison, during the Tokyo Paralympics held from August 24 to September 5, 2021, India achieved its best medal tally with 19 medals—five gold, eight silver, and six bronze.
Key Performances
Avani Lekhara won India’s first gold at the Paris Paralympics with a dominant performance in the women’s 10m air rifle, scoring 249.7 points, which was also her personal best. Mona Agarwal secured the bronze in the same event.
Manish Narwal earned a silver medal in the men’s 10m air pistol SH1 with 234.9 points. Despite dropping to sixth place midway, Narwal rallied to finish with a silver.
Rubina Francis took bronze in the women’s 10m air pistol SH-1 final, and Preeti Pal won bronze in both the 100m T35 and 200m T35 races, delivering strong performances.
Nishad Kumar clinched silver in the men’s high jump T47 with a leap of 2.04m, while Yogesh Kathuniya won silver in the men’s discus throw F56.
The Indian archery team of Rakesh Kumar and Sheetal Devi won bronze in the mixed team compound event.
Sumit Antil defended his gold in the men’s javelin throw F64 with a record-breaking performance.
Nithya Sre Sivan won bronze in the women’s SH6 para-badminton category, defeating Indonesia’s Rina Marlina for her first Paralympic medal.
In men’s singles SL3 para-badminton, Nitesh triumphed over Great Britain’s Daniel Bethell to claim gold. Thulasimathi Murugesan secured silver in the women’s singles SU5, and Manisha won bronze in the same category.
Deepthi Jeevanji bagged a bronze in the women’s 400m T20, adding to India’s medal count.
Sharad Kumar and Mariyappan Thangavelu achieved a double podium finish in the men’s high jump T6. Sharad won silver with a leap of 1.88m, while Mariyappan took bronze with 1.85m.
In men’s javelin throw F46, Ajeet Singh and Sundar Singh Gurjar won silver and bronze, respectively. Ajeet’s personal best throw of 65.62m secured him the silver, and Sundar’s season-best throw of 64.96m earned him bronze.
India’s exceptional performance at the Paris Paralympics highlights the country’s growing prowess in para-sports and sets a new benchmark for future competitions.