 "Paris Paralympics 2024: Dates, history, Indian athletes, list of sports and all you need to know")
It has been over a week now since the 2024 Paris Olympics came to an end, but there’s a lot more in store for sports enthusiasts. The 2024 Paris Paralympics is all set to get underway in the French capital on 28 August, and will go on till 8 September. This will be for the first time that France will stage a summer Paralympics, having previously hosted the Winter Paralympics in 1992, which was held in Tignes and Albertville.
The 2021 Paralympics in Tokyo was held without spectators owing to the coronavirus pandemic, but this time, fans will make a return to stadiums. A total of 22 sporting events will be played during the Games, with 4,400 athletes from across the world set to take part. India are sending 84 athletes to Paris , the most from the country in any edition of the Paralympic Games till date.
Here’s all you need to know ahead of the 2024 Paris Paralympics:
When will the Paris Paralympics take place?
The Paris Paralympics will get underway on 28 August with an opening ceremony. For the first-ever time, the opening ceremony of a Paralympics will be held outside a stadium, as was also the case during the Olympics opening ceremony. During the parade, the athletes will cover some iconic landmarks between Champs-Elysees and the Place de la Concorde.
Fans will get a glimpse of the event before the official athletes parade and other ceremonies take place at Place de la Concorde, which is only for the ticket-holders.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsThe first day of competition will be on 29 August, and 22 gold medals will be given on that day. The Games will conclude on 8 September, the day when medal events of wheelchair basketball, para- canoe, para-powerlifting and wheelchair marathons will be held, along with the closing ceremony.
Which venues will host the Games?
A majority of the venues that were used during the Olympics will also be used during the Paralympics. Roland Garros will host wheelchair tennis, Chateau de Versailles gardens will host para-equestrian competitions, and Stade de France will be home to para-athletics.
Wheelchair fencing and Para-taekwondo will take place at Grand Palais, whereas a stadium specifically built for the Games near the Eiffel tower will host blind football games.
Central Paris will host Para-Triathlon, with the Seine river to host the swimming leg of the competition.
What are the sports that will feature at the Paris Paralympics?
A total of 22 sports will feature at the Paris Paralympics. They are as follows:
Blind football
Para-archery
Para-athletics
Boccia
Goalball
Para-badminton
Para-canoe
Para-cycling
Para-equestrian
Para-judo
Para-powerlifting
Para-rowing
Para-taekwondo
Para-triathlon
Para-table tennis
Sitting volleyball
Wheelchair basketball
Wheelchair fencing
Wheelchair rugby
Wheelchair tennis
Para-swimming
Shooting Para-sport
Are there any new sports included in Paris Paralympics?
There are no new additions to sports in Paris Paralympics, although the badminton and taekwondo events have become more extensive, with number of women’s events witnessing a record rise.
At the Rio Games in 2016, Para-canoe and Para-triathlon had made their debuts. In the Tokyo Games in 2021, Para-taekwondo and para-badminton made their debuts.
How many gold medals will be on offer?
On offer will be a total of 549 gold medals across the 22 sporting events.
How many Indians will compete at the Paris Paralympics?
A total of 84 Indian athletes will compete at the Paris Paralympics. This is the highest-ever India will be sending to the Paralympics, after 54 athletes travelled to Tokyo for the previous games.
Shooter Avani Lekhara and javelin thrower Sumit Antil will lead India’s medal hopefuls in Paris. Avani had won gold in women’s R2 10m air rifle standing SH1 in Tokyo, whereas Sumit won gold in men’s F64 javelin throw event three years ago.
India had won a record 19 medals at the Tokyo that included five gold, eight silver and six bronze, and Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) president Devendra Jhajharia is hopeful that the country will win at least 25 medals this time around.
How many countries will participate at Paris Paralympics?
At the 2012 London Paralympics, a total of 164 countries took part and it is likely that the Paris Games will exceed that number. However, this will be short of 207 countries that took part n the Paris Paralympics.
A total of 104 nations had taken part in Atlanta in 1996, that rose to 123 in Sydney in 2000. At the Rio Games, 159 countries took part.
A total of 162 countries participated in the Tokyo Games in 2021, with some nations having missed out owing to COVID-19 restrictions. Guyana, St Vincent ad Grenadines, Grenada and Bhutan had made their debuts in Tokyo.
Are Russian and Belarusian athletes allowed to participate?
Yes. Russian and Belarusian athletes are allowed to participate in the Paris Paralympics but as neutrals, meaning they won’t compete under their country flags. Ever since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, both the countries remain suspended from Paralympics.
At the Winter Paralympics in March 2022, athletes of the two countries were barred from participating as neutrals, with the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) being criticised for saying at first that they could participate.
The IPC, after a vote, decided that they would lift a full ban on the two countries and only partially suspend the national Paralympic committees. However, this decision was criticised by some federations, including Great Britain.
Russian Athletes were banned from taking part in the 2016 Rio Paralympics due to doping allegations. At the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang and the Tokyo Summer Games, the Russian athletes were allowed to participate under the banner of Russian Paralympic Committee.
History of Paralympics
The first Paralympic Games were held in 1960 in Rome, Italy, but it has a longer history. Sir Ludwig Guttman was a British neurologist working with World War II veterans who had spinal injuries. He worked at the Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Aylesbury, and used sports as a rehabilitation method for his patients.
He then organised a competition with other hospitals, coinciding with the 1948 London Olympics, and in the next decade, other spinal injury units in Britain adopted the idea.
A total of 400 wheelchair athletes from 23 countries participated at the 1960 Rome Paralympics. Fifty-seven medal events took place across eight sports at the Italian capital.
How can I watch the Paris Paralympics LIVE?
As per a media release , 100 Sports Management Private Limited have acquired exclusive broadcast and LIVE streaming rights for the Paris Paralympics in India.
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