Paralympics 2024: A look at India's historic milestones in Paris

Sept. 9, 2024, 1:30 a.m.

Read time estimation: 4 minutes.

  1

The Indian contingent achieved a historic feat at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, clinching a record total of 29 medals at the Games, which concluded on Sunday. This tally comprises seven gold medals, nine silver medals, and 13 bronze medals, securing India a place among the top 20 nations in the medals table.

Paris Paralympics 2024: News | Medal Tally | India Schedule

At the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021, India secured a total of 19 medals. Three years later, at the subsequent Paralympics, the nation’s athletes surpassed previous achievements, setting a new milestone in the Games’ history.

Several athletes made history during the Paris Paralympics, achieving remarkable milestones. Let's take a look at some of these incredible achievements:

—Avani Lekhara made history as the first Indian woman to achieve multiple Paralympic medals, winning a gold medal in the women’s 10m air rifle standing SH1 category. She had previously won gold in the same competition in Tokyo, along with a bronze in the 50m rifle 3 Positions SH1 category during those Games.

—Preethi Pal etched her name in the history books as the first Indian athlete to win a medal in track events at the Paralympics when she secured bronze in the women’s 100m T35 final on 30 August. A few days later, Preethi won another bronze, this time in the women’s 200m T35 final. This also made her the first woman track and field athlete from India to win multiple Paralympic medals.

—Rubina Francis bagged a bronze medal in the women’s 10m air pistol SH category. This victory made Rubina the first Indian woman to clinch a medal in pistol competitions at the Paralympics.

—Kapil Parmar etched his name in history as India’s first-ever para judo medallist, securing a bronze in the men’s 60kg J1 category.

—Para-archer Harvinder Singh made history in Paris by securing gold in the men’s individual recurve open competition. This win marked him as the first Indian archer to achieve a gold medal, whether in the Olympics or Paralympics. Notably, India has not yet claimed an archery medal in the Olympics.

—Dharambir brought India its first-ever gold medal in club throw at the Paralympics, triumphing in the F51 category. Pranav Soorma also claimed a silver medal in the same event. This feat made them the first two Indian medallists in club throw at the Paralympics.

Sumit Antil successfully defended his javelin throw gold in the F64 category, showcasing exceptional skills. He shattered the Paralympic record twice, first with a remarkable throw of 68.55 meters, and then again with a breathtaking 70.59 meters.

—Mariyappan Thangavelu made history by becoming the first Indian para-athlete to win medals in three consecutive Paralympic Games. He added a bronze in the men's high jump T63 in Paris, to his impressive collection, which includes a gold from Rio in 2016 and a silver from Tokyo in 2021.

—Sheetal Devi, at the tender age of 17, became India's youngest Paralympic medallist by winning bronze in the mixed team compound archery.

—With his silver medal in the men’s shot put F46 final, Sachin Khilari became India’s first male shot put medalist at the Paralympics in 40 years. Joginder Singh Bedi had won the shot put silver medal at the 1984 Games in Stoke Mandeville/New York.

Hokato Hotoze Sema, hailing from Nagaland, etched his name in history as the first athlete from the state to win a Paralympic medal. He secured a bronze in the men's shot put F57.

—Praveen Kumar's victory in the men's high jump T64 athletics competition secured India's sixth gold medal, surpassing their previous best of five from the Tokyo Games. (India later went on to win a total of seven gold medals.)

—Javelin thrower Navdeep Singh became the first Indian to win a medal in the F41 category at the Paralympics. He initially secured a silver medal, which was later upgraded to gold after Iran’s Sadegh Beit Sayah, the original gold medalist, was disqualified.