Paris Paralympics 2024: Sumit Antil, Avani Lekhara and other key medal contenders from Indian contingent

Just a couple of more days are all that’s left for the Paris Paralympics to get underway, and the Indian contingent for one will be hopeful of winning more medals than they ever have before.

India had won more medals in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics alone than they did in all the previous editions combined. India had won a total of 12 medals between the 1968 Games in Tel Aviv — when they debuted in the Paralympic Games  — and the 2016 Games in Rio de Janiero.

Read | India at Paralympics: Full list of medal winners

In 2021, they sent a 54-strong contingent to Tokyo that ended up winning 19 medals — 5 gold, 8 silver and 6 bronze. And by sending an 84-member team, its biggest ever in the Paralympics, to Paris, India is hopeful of breaching the 20-medal barrier for the first time and finishing among the top 20 or 15 nations on the medal table.

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Before the Paris Paralympics get underway on Wednesday, 28 August, we take a look at some of the key medal hopes for India:

Sumit Antil (Athletics)

Antil, who has been selected as the male flag-bearer for India in the Paris Games, was among India’s five gold medallists in the Tokyo Paralympics three years ago, and he will be looking to defend his javelin throw title in Paris.

Read | India’s Paralympics history: Edition-wise performance and full list of medal winners

Antil has been in top form in events since the Tokyo Paralympics, winning back-to-back gold medals in the World Championships in 2023 and 2024 as well as in the Hangzhou Asian Para-Games last year.

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Another gold will make him only the second Indian to win gold in javelin throw at the Paralympics after Devendra Jhajharia.

Avani Lekhara (Shooting)

Another gold medallist from the Tokyo Games three years ago, Lekhara will be setting her sights on back-to-back Paralympic gold medals that will make her the first Indian para-shooter to achieve the feat.

And it’s not just a gold in Women’s R2 10 metre air rifle standing SH1 — she had also won a bronze in the R8 50 metre Rifle 3 positions SH1 event. Having medalled in both events the last time, Lekhara will even be dreaming of winning two medals in the same Paralympics — which will no doubt cement her status as one of the greatest Indian para-athletes of all time, if not the greatest.

Sheetal Devi (Archery)

Sheetal Devi had won two gold medals in last year’s Asian Para-Games in Hangzhou — in the women’s individual compound section as well as in the mixed team event along with Rakesh Kumar — which makes her a strong favourite to become the first Indian female to win an archery medal at the Paralympics.

Manasi Joshi (Badminton)

A shuttler who competes in the SL3 category, Manasi Joshi will be hoping to make the most of her maiden appearance in the Paralympics. The fact that she is a seven-time World Championships medallist — winning gold in 2019 besides two silvers and four bronzes — makes her absence from the Paralympics all the more perplexing.

India had won their first Paralympic badminton medals in Tokyo three years ago and will be hoping to make its mark in the women’s section as well in Paris.

Mona Agarwal (Shooting)

Lekhara is the only Indian female shooter to have won a medal at the Paralympics and Mona Agarwal will be hoping to change that in Paris when she makes her debut at the world’s biggest multi-sporting event for para-athletes.

Shooting star Mona Agarwal secures 🇮🇳 entry for #RoadToParis at WSPS World Cup New Delhi😍#ParaShooting🔫

* #NCOE Athlete Mona Agarwal clinches a #Gold🥇with an outstanding score of 618 in R2 Women's 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1, securing #Paris2024 Quota for India 🎉… pic.twitter.com/cC2MTybE6v

— SAI Media (@Media_SAI) March 9, 2024

Having made her international debut only last year, Agarwal had won gold in the women’s 10m air rifle SH1 category in the Para Shooting World Cup in New Delhi earlier this year, finishing ahead of Lekhara won collected bronze.

And it’s not just 10m air rifle where she will be competing with Lekhara — Agarwal has also qualified for the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions SH1 event, and will be hoping to return home with two Paralympic medals around her neck.

Krishna Nagar (Badminton)

One of two shuttlers to win gold in the Tokyo Games three years ago, the other being Pramod Bhagat who was disqualified shortly before the trip to Paris , Nagar will be setting his sights on becoming the first Indian para-badminton player to not only medal in back-to-back Paralympics but to stand on top of the podium while doing so.

“Right now, the confidence is there, my game has also improved since then. So, the confidence of winning another medal is there, and my aim is to deliver my best,” Nagar told _Firstpost_ in an exclusive conversation shortly before the Paralympics.

Harvinder Singh (Archery)

Harvinder had won India’s first ever archery medal at the Paralympics in Tokyo three years ago by winning bronze in the men’s individual recurve open category. Having qualified for the Paris Games as well, Harvinder will be setting his sights on upgrading his medal to gold or a silver.

Harvinder had won bronze in the men’s doubles recurve event at the Hangzhou Asian Para-Games last year. He also collected bronze in the World Archery Oceania 2024 Para Grand Prix and Para Archery World Ranking event in Australia and Czech Republic respectively earlier this summer.

Manish Narwal (Shooting)

Another of India’s five gold medallists at the Tokyo Paralympics and the second shooter along with Lekhara, Narwal will be aiming to win a second consecutive gold in the Paralympic Games.

Narwal, who had been bestowed with the Khel Ratna Award in 2021, will be competing in the 10 m air pistol SH1 category alongside Rudransh Khandelwal in Paris after striking gold in the mixed P4 50 metre pistol SH1 in Tokyo. He had won bronze in the 10m air pistol event in Hangzhou during the Asian Para-Games last year.