Our Bureau
Paris
In a historic achievement, the Indian Paralympic contingent has shattered all previous records, winning a total of 20 medals at the ongoing Paris Paralympics 2024 as of Day 6. This surpasses India’s best-ever tally of 19 medals achieved at the Tokyo Paralympics in 2020.
The medal rush began on Monday when India won 8 medals, the most ever on a single day at the Paralympics. This momentum continued into Tuesday, with the para athletics team delivering a stellar performance to add 5 more medals to India’s tally in the span of just half an hour past midnight.
The highlight of the day was the javelin throw events, where India secured a rare double podium finish. Ajeet Singh clinched the silver medal with a personal best throw of 65.62m in the F46 category, while Sundar Singh Gurjar bagged the bronze with a seasonal best of 64.96m in the same event.
In the men’s high jump T63 final, Sharad Kumar set a new Paralympic record with a silver medal-winning jump of 1.88m, improving upon his bronze from Tokyo. Mariyappan Thangavelu, the Tokyo gold medalist, added another bronze to India’s tally with a jump of 1.85m.
20-year-old sprinter Deepthi Jeevanji, the reigning world champion and record holder in the women’s 400m T20 event, won a hard-fought bronze in her debut Paralympic appearance, clocking 55.82 seconds.
With these 5 medals, India surpassed its total athletics medal count from Tokyo at 10 medals and also went one better than its badminton tally of 4 from the previous edition.
Now placed 17th on the overall medals table, India has already bettered its Tokyo performance with 3 gold, 7 silver, and 10 bronze medals. The country is expected to further improve its tally with more events lined up in archery, cycling, and athletics over the next four days.
The historic achievement has drawn praise from the highest quarters, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Droupadi Murmu extending their wishes to the para athletes.
With the Tokyo edition’s record already surpassed and more medals expected, the Paris Paralympics 2024 is shaping up to be India’s most successful Paralympic campaign yet. The country’s para sports movement has truly arrived on the global stage.
