At Rio 2016, India’s para Olympians returned home with four medals, two more than the able-bodied athletes. The tally jumped to 19 medals at the next Summer Games at Tokyo in 2021. As the 2024 Paralympic Games gets underway with the opening ceremony in Paris on Wednesday, India will be looking to continue this upward trajectory.
Hopes are high as the largest-ever para-contingent of 84 athletes will be seen at venues where India got five medals earlier this month. Double paralympic medalist Devendra Jhajharia, who is now president of the Paralympic Committee of India, has a number in mind when he speculates on India’s medal count.
“Our 84-member team has come here with great enthusiasm. As the president of the Paralympic Committee, I want to tell you that we are going to create history in this tournament,” Jhajharia said in a video message after the contingent reached the Games village.
“We will win more medals than we ever have in the history of the Paralympics. When we repeatedly say that we will win more than 25 medals and that we will be in the medal tally of the top 20 countries, it is because our preparation is excellent, whether it be athletics, badminton or archery,” he said.
After their feats in Tokyo, there are already a few headliners to watch out for from India. Before shooter Manu Bhaker in Paris, there was shooter
Avani Lekhara in Tokyo who won multiple medals at one edition of the Games.
Lekhara, who was paralysed from the waist below after an accident at the age of 12 years and shoots from a wheelchair, became the first Indian female athlete to bag a gold medal at the Paralympics when she won the 10m air rifle SH1. She followed that up with a bronze later. Back to compete in France now, she will be shouldering the responsibilities of the shooting contingent.
In athletics, India, historically, has done well. Jhajharia’s two javelin gold medals, both before Neeraj Chopra’s historic Olympic gold in Tokyo, came 12 years apart. But Sumit Antil may not have to wait that long.
Growing up in Khewra village of Haryana’s Sonipat district, Antil dreamt of being a wrestler one day. He had the physique for it too, tall and well-built with strong shoulders. However, after an accident in January 2015, his left leg was amputated. A couple of years later, he was introduced to para athletics, and he thought javelin throw would be his best bet.
From throwing the spear to 35m when he started off, Antil has now broken — rather smashed — the world record in men’s javelin (F64) multiple times. Antil, who throws with a prosthetic leg, shot to the limelight in Tokyo and has since added two World Championship golds and one at Asian Games too. He won the last one with a stunning throw of 73.29m, the farthest any para athlete has thrown the javelin across all classifications.
While Lekhara and Antil will be looking to defend their titles, there is Sheetal Devi, a rising star who has already made headlines before her Paralympics debut. Born with Phocomelia, a rare congenital disorder that causes under-developed limbs, she hadn’t come across a bow-and-arrow until she was 15 years old.
“Initially, I could not even lift the bow properly. But, after practising for a couple of months, it became easier,” Devi told The Indian Express when she won three medals at the Asian Games last year. She has since become a well-known face in the Indian sporting community, for her ability to release the arrow with the help of her right leg, right shoulder and jaw.
Also in focus will be para badminton. For the first time since London 2012, Indian shuttlers didn’t finish on the podium at the Paris Olympics earlier this month, but the para contingent is expected to fare better. Badminton made its Paralympics debut in Tokyo, where India won four medals, including two gold. While one of the gold medallists, Pramod Bhagat, was suspended for 18 months due to a whereabouts violation, the contingent is still brimming with talent.
“This time, we will try to increase our share to eight-ten medals, including six gold medals. Our players are in good form and I believe they will do well,” para badminton chief coach Gaurav Khanna told Badminton World Federation. “We need to set targets for the results and I believe we can achieve this.”
Over the next fortnight, there will be no dearth of inspiration as these athletes, and dozens more, showcase their skills in Paris, as India seeks to continue the upward medal trend of the last few Paralympic Games.
