New Delhi, Sept 4: India has set a new benchmark in Paralympic history with its best-ever medal haul, surpassing its previous record from the Tokyo 2020 Games. On Tuesday, the country's track and field athletes delivered exceptional performances, propelling India’s medal tally to 20—comprising 3 gold, 7 silver, and 10 bronze. This surpasses the 19 medals won at the Tokyo Paralympics three years ago.
The significant boost in India’s medal count came during a stellar day for track and field athletes at the Stade de France. The athletes secured five additional medals, including two silver and three bronze, as India finished the sixth day of the Games in 17th place overall.
Javelin throwers Ajeet Singh and world record holder Sundar Singh Gurjar played pivotal roles in this achievement. Singh earned silver with a throw of 65.62 meters, while Gurjar claimed bronze with a 64.96-meter throw in the F46 category, which includes athletes with moderate movement impairments in one or both arms or the absence of limbs.
In high jump, Sharad Kumar and Tokyo 2020 gold medallist Mariyappan Thangavelu delivered commendable performances. Kumar secured silver with a jump of 1.88 meters, and Thangavelu won bronze with a 1.85-meter leap in the T63 category, which is for athletes with moderate impairment in one leg or the absence of limbs above the knee.
Earlier, Deepthi Jeevanji, a world champion sprinter, added another bronze to India’s tally in the women’s 400-meter (T20) event. The 20-year-old clocked 55.82 seconds in her debut Paralympics appearance, finishing behind Ukraine’s Yuliia Shuliar (55.16 seconds) and Turkey’s Aysel Onder (55.23 seconds). Jeevanji’s journey from her village in Telangana to international success is marked by resilience and determination.
In contrast, ace shooter Avani Lekhara narrowly missed out on a second medal at these Games. She finished fifth in the women’s 50-meter rifle 3 positions SH1 event. Lekhara, who became the first Indian woman to win consecutive Paralympic gold medals, shot a total of 420.6 points across the three stages. The gold went to Germany's Natascha Hiltrop (456.5 points), silver to Slovakia's Veronika Vadovicova (456.1 points), and bronze to China’s Zhang (446.0 points).
Bhagyashri Jadhav finished fifth in the women’s shot put (F34) with a throw of 7.28 meters. Despite the strong competition, Jadhav’s performance is a testament to her remarkable journey from personal adversity to Paralympic athlete.
In archery, Pooja Jatyan made it to the quarterfinals of the recurve women’s open competition but was defeated by China’s Wu Chunyan. Jatyan’s campaign ended after a match in which she led early but faltered as Chunyan made a comeback.
India’s remarkable performance at the Paralympics highlights the country’s growing prowess in para-sports and sets a new standard for future Games.
