Hopes are excessive for the Indian contingent on the Paris Paralympics to ship their best-ever displaying on the Video games, with the benchmark set in Tokyo. Three years again, India completed the Tokyo Paralympics with 19 medals together with 5 gold, eight silver, and 6 bronze. As has been the case at these Video games, para athletics is the place as soon as once more India’s highest proportion of medals could be anticipated in Paris as effectively. However this time round, para badminton, capturing para sport and para archery too have been earmarked for important outcomes.
Sumit’s rise from the Tokyo Paralympics is among the tales of Indian sport in latest instances. He shot to the limelight in some model with a collection of world record-breaking throws in Tokyo (the place he gained gold with 68.55 metres finally). Sumit has since gone on to win gold on the World Championships twice (Paris 2023 and Kobe 2024), as effectively on the Asian Para Video games final 12 months. In Hangzhou, he broke the World Document once more with 73.29m. He isn’t solely India’s flag bearer on the opening ceremony but additionally the flagbearer for India’s para athletics program.
Mariyappan Thangavelu (Males’s Excessive Leap – T63)
Mariyappan Thangavelu is already a two-time Paralympic medallist. He gained gold at Rio 2016 (T42) with a clearance of 1.89m earlier than ending with a silver in Tokyo with 1.86. Thangavelu’s gold medal on the final World Championships additionally augurs effectively, in a subject not too completely different from what we’ll see in Paris this time. In reality, this might be a really productive occasion for India with Sharad Kumar and Shailesh Kumar additionally within the fray within the 8-man subject. USA’s Sam Grewe and Ezra Frech would be the Indians’ predominant rivals for the rostrum.
Avani Lekhara (Capturing Sport, three occasions)
Earlier than Manu Bhaker in Paris, there was Avani Lekhara in Tokyo. An adolescent again then, Avani was sensational on the final Paralympic Video games, the place she gained two medals, together with a gold that made her the primary feminine Paralympic champion in India’s historical past. In Paris, she’s going to compete in three occasions: Girls’s 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1, Blended 10m Air Rifle Susceptible, Girls’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions SH1. The gold medal she’d be defending is within the 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 occasion, and that will likely be first up for her. Additionally in capturing, Manish Narwal is a agency contender in Males’s 10m Air Pistol SH1 the place he’s the reigning Paralympic and World Champion.
Sheetal Devi (Archery, two occasions)
Nonetheless solely 17, Sheetal Devi is already no stranger to creating headlines. Armless Archers are uncommon on this planet and Sheetal has made speedy strides in a short while since stepping into the game. She will likely be one of many three archers capturing with the assistance of their ft together with the pioneer himself Matt Stutzman and Piotr Van Montagu. Sheetal will likely be competing in two occasions: Girls’s Particular person Compound Open and Blended Group Compound Open. She had gained silver within the particular person occasion on the World Championships in Plzen final 12 months and could be eager to go one step additional. Harvinder Singh, history-maker in Tokyo when he gained India’s first archery medal at any Summer season Video games, can be in recurve rivalry in Paris in two occasions.
Krishna Nagar (Badminton, Males’s Singles SH6)
There are fairly just a few medal contenders amongst male shuttlers in Paris, however all eyes will likely be on Krishna Nagar who will likely be seeking to defend his gold medal from Tokyo. Within the absence of Pramod Bhagat, who was handed an 18-month suspension just lately, Krishna is the one returning champion from three years in the past. He’s seeded third in his class, the place Chu Man Kai has the highest billing and would be the man to beat. Indian males who’ve acquired high seeding are Tokyo bronze medallist Suhas Yathiraj (SL4) and Nitesh Kumar (SL3).
Manisha Ramadass (Badminton, Girls’s Singles SU5)
Nonetheless solely 19, Manisha Ramadass already has constructed up a stable CV, having gained gold on the 2022 World Championships and ending with a silver earlier this 12 months. India’s Thulasimathi Murugesan is the highest seed on this class, however Manisha comes with extra singles success in her favour. Yang Qiu Xia of China, nonetheless, would maybe begin the favorite because the reigning Paralympic and World Champion. Elsewhere, Nithya Sre Sumathy Sivan is the highest seed in SH6 whereas Tokyo Paralympian Palak Kohli is in rivalry in two occasions and could be eager to earn her first medal.
Bhavina Patel (Girls’s Singles – WS4)
One of many extra spectacular medals in Tokyo for the Indian contingent got here in desk tennis when Bhavina Patel punched effectively above her world rating again then of 12 to win silver, the nation’s first ever desk tennis medal at Olympics or Paralympics. She beat higher-ranked opponents all alongside, even defeating the Rio 2016 gold medallist Borislava Peric-Rankovic within the quarters and silver medallist Miao Zhang within the semis. The win in opposition to the Chinese language was particularly spectacular. This time, Bhavina enters the match because the 4th seed and can as soon as once more have to beat the likes of Peric-Rankovic and a few Chinese language opponents if she has to go back-to-back. Bhavina can be entered to function in Girls’s Doubles – WD10 alongside Sonal Patel.