New Delhi, Sept 3: India made history on Day 5 of the Paris Paralympics 2024 by securing a record-breaking eight medals, including golds from shuttler Kumar Nitesh and javelin thrower Sumit Antil. The country is on track to surpass its previous record of 19 medals won at the Tokyo Games.
In a thrilling men’s singles SL3 final, 29-year-old Nitesh, who lost his left leg in a train accident in 2009, clinched gold by defeating Britain's Tokyo silver-medallist Daniel Bethell 21-14, 18-21, 23-21 in a match that lasted over an hour.
Later in the day, 26-year-old Sumit Antil captured the spotlight by defending his Paralympic title in the javelin throw F64 final with a Games record throw of 70.59m. Antil, from Sonipat, Haryana, improved upon his previous Paralympic best of 68.55m set in Tokyo. His current world record stands at 73.29m. He is only the second Indian, after shooter Avani Lekhara, to defend a Paralympic title.
India's medal haul included silver medals from discus thrower Yogesh Kathuniya (F56) and para-shuttlers Thulasimathi Murugesan (SU5) and Suhas Yathiraj (SL4). Murugesan, competing in her first Paralympics, finished with silver after losing 17-21, 10-21 to China's Yang Qiuxia. Manisha Ramadass also earned a bronze in para-shuttling.
In archery, Sheetal Devi and Rakesh Kumar secured a bronze medal with a 156-155 victory over Italy’s Eleonora Sarti and Matteo Bonacina in the mixed team compound open event. Sheetal, 17, made history as the first Indian woman to win an archery medal at the Paralympics. This marks India’s second archery medal, following Harvinder Singh's individual bronze in Tokyo.
The day's achievements were highlighted by Nitesh’s gold, the second for India in the ongoing Games, following Avani Lekhara's top finish in the women’s 10m air rifle (SH1) event last week. Yogesh Kathuniya earned his second consecutive Paralympic silver with a season's best 42.22m throw.
Shuttler Suhas Yathiraj, who was born with a congenital deformity affecting his balance, finished fourth in the SL4 men’s singles after losing to Frenchman Lucas Mazur.
In the final badminton match of the day, 19-year-old Nithya Sre Sivan won a bronze in the women’s singles SH6, defeating Indonesia’s Rina Marlina 21-14, 21-6, capping off a historic day for Indian para-badminton.
