Earlier than Tokyo Paralympics, essentially the most medals India had received at a single version was 4, which had occurred twice. First, on the 1984 version, then as soon as extra 4 in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. Then got here the surge in Tokyo three years again. On August 30 in Tokyo alone, India received 5 medals, again then a report. A type of 5 was a gold medal for Sumit Antil in males’s javelin. Quick ahead three years, on the day Sumit defended his gold medal in Paris, India received a complete of eight medals as September 2, 2024 grew to become the nation’s single most profitable day within the historical past of Paralympics.
Right here’s how the historic day panned out:
Silver – Yogesh Kathuniya (Athletics)
India’s Yogesh Kathuniya clinches silver in discus throw. (Screengrab)
Yogesh kickstarted issues in Males’s Discus Throw – F56 ending second to retain his medal from three years again and getting into the membership of a number of medallists on the Paralympics from India. However, very similar to Nishad Kumar the earlier night time in excessive soar, Nishad he wasn’t a cheerful man. Regardless of a Season Finest throw, Yogesh felt he had extra left in him and an opportunity to push Brazil’s Claudiney Batista for a shot at gold.
Gold – Nitesh Kumar (Badminton)
Gold medallist Kumar Nitesh of India celebrates on the rostrum. (REUTERS/Jennifer Lorenzini)
Earlier than Monday, Nitesh had not defeated Daniel Bethell of their 9 previous conferences. Regardless of being the highest seed, Nitesh got here in as an underdog however he discovered a approach to get bast the Brit within the largest match of his life. Nitesh beat Bethell 21-14 18-21 23-21 in an 80-minute thriller to win India’s second gold medal of the Paris Video games. The win ensured the gold medal in Males’s Singles SL3 remained with India, regardless of the shock suspension of Tokyo champion Pramod Bhagat.
Silver – Thulasimathi Murugesan (Badminton)
Indian para-badminton participant Thulasimathi Murugesan throughout her girls’s singles SU5 badminton occasion match on the Paralympics 2024, in France. (PTI)
In Tokyo, all 4 of India’s Para Badminton medals had been received by male shuttlers. However by reaching the ultimate of Girls’s Singles SU5, 22-year-old Thulasimathi had already ensured that received’t be the case in Paris. Her opponent within the remaining was Yang Qiu Xia, the reigning Paralympic and World Champion, and regardless of pushing her in some elements of the match, the Indian misplaced in straight video games. It was nevertheless a historic silver.
Bronze: Manisha Ramadass (Badminton)
Bronze medallist Manisha Ramadass celebrates on the rostrum. (Reuters)
A couple of minutes earlier than Thulasimathi’s silver, 19-year-old Manisha ensured India can have two shuttlers on the rostrum in Girls’s Singles SU5 as she dominated her Danish opponent in straight video games to clinch bronze. Manisha had misplaced towards Thulasimathi within the semifinal.
Silver: Suhas Yathiraj (Badminton)
Silver medallist Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj of India celebrates on the rostrum. (Reuters)
Suhas had not too long ago taken over from Lucas Mazur because the World No 1 in Males’s Singles SL4. He had confronted Mazur within the remaining on the Tokyo video games, and it was an epic three-game battle. However on Monday, he couldn’t fairly discover a tame the beast that’s Mazur, who was backed by a sensational residence crowd. At instances it felt, he was enjoying two gamers on the opposite aspect. However nonetheless, at 41, the IAS officer retained his silver from Tokyo. Suhas is the one Indian shuttler to win two Paralympics medals now.
Bronze: Rakesh Kumar | Sheetal Devi (Archery)
Know extra in regards to the situation which Sheetal Devi suffers from (Supply: AP/PTI)
There have been 22 years separating them when it comes to age, however seated a couple of centimeters away from one another, Rakesh and Sheetal took us on a correct rollercoaster to clinch bronze medal in Blended Crew Compound Open. They had been anticipated to be contenders, given their billing as prime seeds but it surely was a semifinal heartbreak by the smallest of margins towards Iran. However they recovered rapidly to beat Italy in one other thriller to make sure India’s first archery medal in Paris, after a collection of heartbreaks throughout the Olympics and Paralympics.
Gold: Sumit Antil (Athletics)
Sumit Antil of India in motion (Reuters)
Was there actually any doubt? Males’s Javelin Throw – F64 has turn into the occasion to pencil in on the calendar at any main para athletics occasion today due to the rise and rise of Sumit Antil. After grabbing headlines in Tokyo, with a collection of World Document-breaking throws, Sumit got here to Paris with the strain of defending the gold and competing in entrance of a crowd, the likes hadn’t seen earlier than. However as ever, Sumit began his first throw in effective vogue to smash his personal Paralympic Document… then went on to do it once more, along with his second throw for a shocking 70.59. The silver medal went for a distance of 67.03, and Sumit had three throws farther than that.
Bronze: Nithya Sre Sumathy Sivan (Badminton)
Bronze medallist Nithya Sre Sumathy Sivan of India celebrates on the rostrum (Reuters)
Late within the night time, after what appeared to be an interminable delay, there was yet one more medal to come back that pushed India’s depend for the day to eight. On paper, Nithya Sre was the underdog for this one towards Rina Marlina of Indonesia within the Girls’s Singles SH6 bronze medal match. However Nithya Sre obtained off to a racing begin, and regardless of transient indicators of a fightback from the Indonesian (who didn’t look like at her greatest bodily health), the Indian stormed via in straight video games. It additionally ensured India received 5 para badminton medals in Paris, yet one more than in Tokyo, with three of them coming courtesy feminine shuttlers.