 "Paralympics 2024: How India achieved its biggest medal haul in Paris; full list of medal winners")
India’s campaign in the Paralympic Games in Paris concluded on Sunday afternoon with para canoeist Pooja Ojha bowing of the women’s kayak single 200m KL1 event in the semi-finals with a timing of 1:17.23.
Ojha was the only Indian competitor in action on the final day of the Paris Paralympics that was to conclude with a star-studded closing ceremony in Stade de France. Her semi-final exit meant India’s campaign began with a medal-less day and also concluded with one.
Paris Paralympics 2024: News | Medal Tally | India Schedule
However, it is what happened in those nine days in between that makes Paris 2024 the greatest moment in Indian Paralympic history, surpassing the high standards that had been set in the Tokyo Games three years ago.
It’s not just the fact that India eclipsed their record haul of 19 medals in Tokyo, they also won more gold medals this time around and could have breached the 30-medal barrier with the number of fourth-place finishes they’ve had.
Read | India end historic campaign with 29 medals including seven gold
And athletics played a major part in India’s success in Paris, with track and field athletes accounting for 17 of the 29 medals that India won, including four out of a total of seven gold medals.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsIndia had won a total of 12 medals from their Paralympic debut in 1968 to 2016, winning four of those medals in Rio de Janeiro eight years ago. The next two editions in Tokyo and Paris, however, would witness a massive turnaround in India’s performance with the nation winning 48 medals, taking its overall haul to 60.
India are yet to breach the double-digit barrier in terms of medals won in the Olympics. In the Paralympics, however, not only have they achieved that feat twice in a row, they managed to finish among the top 20 in Paris this time around.
Here’s a detailed look at how India’s campaign in the 2024 Paralympic Games panned out:
India open their account on Day 2
After the Indian contingent drew a blank on the opening day, shooters Avani Lekhara and Mona Agarwal opened India’s account with a gold and a bronze in the women’s 10m air rifle standing SH1 event, the former becoming the first Indian to win a gold medal in back-to-back editions of the Paralympics in the process.
Avani and Mona weren’t the only shooters to win a medal on Day 2 though as Manish Narwal added a silver medal in men’s 10m air pistol SH1 to his gold in Tokyo 2020, albeit in a different event. And at Stade de France, Preethi Pal made history by winning bronze in the women’s 100m T35 event, becoming the first Indian to win a track medal at the Paralympics.
After the high of winning four medals on Day 2, India won just one medal the following day as shooter Rubina Francis ensured the Indian contingent won at least one medal that day with a bronze in the women’s 10m air pistol SH1 category. And on Day 4, Preethi added a second track bronze, in the 200m race, while Nishad Kumar won silver in the men’s high jump T47 category.
A record 8 medals in a single day
The reason why India finished inside the top 20 for the first time ever in the Paralympics was because of their heroics from Days 5 to 7, in which they won a whopping 17 medals in a span of just three days.
The fifth day alone witnessed the Indian contingent win eight medals — breaking the record for the most medals ever won by the country in a single day in Paralympic history. The medal rain began with a second consecutive Paralympic silver for Yogesh Kathuniya in the men’s discus throw F56 category.
That was followed by India winning its second gold medal — the only one won by a para-shuttler as Nitesh Kumar defeated Britain’s Daniel Bethell in the final of the men’s SL3 category. He was by no means the only shuttler medalling that day.
Suhas Yathiraj won a second consecutive Paralympic silver in the SL4 category, losing against the same opponent — France’s Lucas Mazur — once again. And Thulasimathi Murugesan and Manisha Ramadass won silver and bronze respectively in the women’s singles SU5 category. Later, Nithya Sre Sumathy Sivan would add a bronze in the women’s SH6 category.
Additionally, Sheetal Devi and Rakesh Kumar would win bronze in the mixed team compound open event to help India win its first archery medal of the Games. The highlight of the day, however, was Sumit Antil not only retaining his Paralympic title, but smashing the Games record that he had set in Tokyo three years ago.
India surpass their Tokyo haul
Day 6 witnessed India add another five medals to take its overall count to 20 — surpassing the 19 medals it had won in Tokyo to register its best performance ever in the Paralympics. Deepthi Jeevanji won bronze in the women’s 400m T20 category.
India would later register two double-podium finishes — Ajeet Singh and Sundar Singh Gurjar winning silver and bronze respectively in men’s javelin throw F46 category and Sharad Kumar and Mariyappan Thangavelu winning silver and bronze in men’s high jump T63.
Day 7 would bring with it another four medals for the Indian contingent, including a historic gold for Harvinder Singh in the men’s individual recurve open event, defeating Poland’s Lucasz Ciszek 6-0 in the final to become the first Indian to win an archery gold in the Paralympics.
India also made history in the men’s club throw F51 event, in which Dharambir Nain and Pranav Soorma won gold and silver respectively to help India register its first ever podium one-two in Paralympic history. Additionally, Sachin Khilari won silver in the men’s shot put F46 category.
India finish within touching distance of 30
India weren’t done despite making history in several events and outshining their own performance in the Tokyo Games three years ago.
Kapil Parmar won the country’s first ever judo medal by winning bronze in the men’s 60kg J1 category, India’s lone medal on Day 8 of the Games. The next two days would witness India win one gold and one bronze each — Praveen Kumar and Hokato Hotozhe Sema won gold and bronze in men’s high jump T64 and men’s shot put F57 respectively on Day 9.
On Day 10, Simran Sharma would win bronze in the women’s 200m T12 category to make up for her heartbreak in the 100-metre final a couple of days earlier, in which she finished fourth. India’s final medal of the campaign was won by Navdeep, who had initially won silver in the men’s javelin throw F41 category, only for it to be upgraded to gold after Iran’s Sadegh Beit Sayah was disqualified from the event, resulting in India winning its seventh and what would turn out to be its final gold.
Here’s a break-up of India’s medals won in the Paris Paralympics by sport:
Athletics: 4 gold; 6 silver; 7 bronze
Badminton: 1 gold; 2 silver; 2 bronze
Shooting: 1 gold; 1 silver; 2 bronze
Archery: 1 gold; 1 bronze
Judo: 1 bronze
Total: 7 gold; 9 silver; 13 bronze
Full list of Indian medal winners:
1. Gold — Avani Lekhara, women’s 10m air rifle standing SH1.
2. Bronze — Mona Agarwal, women’s 10m air rifle standing SH1.
3. Bronze — Preethi Pal, women’s 100m T35.
4. Silver — Manish Narwal, men’s 10m air pistol SH1.
5. Bronze — Rubina Francis, women’s 10m air pistol SH1
6. Bronze — Preethi Pal, women’s 200m T35.
7. Silver — Nishad Kumar in men’s high jump T47.
8. Silver — Yogesh Kathuniya in men’s discus throw F56.
9. Gold — Nitesh Kumar in badminton men’s singles SL3 category
10. Bronze — Manisha Ramadass in badminton women’s singles SU5 category.
11. Silver — Thulasimathi Murugesan in badminton women’s singles SU5 category.
12. Silver — Suhas Yathiraj in badminton men’s singles SL4 category.
13. Bronze — Sheetal Devi and Rakesh Kumar in archery mixed team compound open.
14. Gold — Sumit Antil in men’s javelin throw F64.
15. Bronze — Nithya Sre Sivan in badminton women’s singles SH6 category.
16. Bronze — Deepthi Jeevanji in women’s 400m T20 category
17. Silver — Ajeet Singh in men’s javelin Throw F46 category
18. Bronze — Sundar Singh Gurjar in men’s javelin throw F46 category
19. Silver — Sharad Kumar in men’s high jump T63 category
20. Bronze — Mariyappan Thangavelu in men’s high jump T63 category
21. Silver — Sachin Khilari in men’s shot put F46 category.
22. Gold — Harvinder Singh in archery men’s individual recurve open.
23. Gold — Dharambir in men’s club throw F51 category.
24. Silver — Pranav Soorma in men’s club throw F51 category.
25. Bronze — Kapil Parmar in men’s judo 60kg J1 category.
26. Gold — Praveen Kumar in men’s high jump T64 category
27. Bronze — Hokato Hotozhe Sema in men’s shot put F57 category
28. Bronze —Simran Sharma in women’s 200m T12 category
29. Gold — Navdeep in men’s javelin throw F41 category
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