The Paralympics 2020 held in Tokyo, Japan, brought glory to the Indian country. India made its debut
in 1968 and the representation in the games has been regular since 1984.
Till 2016, India had only won 12 medals (4 medals of each colour). However, in the recent Paralympics our country won 19 medals including 5 Golds, 8 Silver and
6 Bronze medals.
2020 Paralympics is considered to be one of the best winning spree's of India till this day.
The Paralympics games of 2020 were delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic due to which they were held in 2021. Hence the Paralympics refer to the year 2020.
A delay by one year did not stop Indian athletes from performing up to their fullest potential.
But wait a second, did you know how many Indian athletes have participated in this year? Only 54 Indian athletes have qualified for Paralympics out of which 19 won medals.
The Indian Prime Minister congratulated Paralympians on their brilliant performance at the games. In Delhi, an artist painted graffiti wall art of our Paralympians and the whole nation celebrated our glory.
- Sumit Antil won the Gold medal in Men's Javelin Throw (F64)
- Manish Narwal won the Gold medal in Shooting
- Parmod Bhagat won the Gold medal in the Badminton Singles Event (SL3)
- Krishna Nagar won the Gold medal in Badminton (SH6) in Singles
- Bhavina Patel won the Silver medal in Table Tennis Women's Individual (class 4)
- Nishad won a Silver medal in the Men's High Jump (T47) category
- Yogesh won a Silver medal in Discus Throw (F56) category
- Devendra Jhajharia won the Silver medal in Javelin throw (F46)
- Mariyappan Thangavelu won the Silver medal in Men's High Jump (T63)
- Praveen Kumar won a Silver medal in Men's High Jump (T64)
- Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj won a Silver medal in Badminton Singles (SL4)
- Sundar Singh Gujjar won the bronze medal in Men's Javelin throw (F46)
- Singhraj Adhana won the Bronze medal in Men's 10 meter P1 Shooting (SH1)
- Sharad Kumar won the Bronze medal in Men's High Jump (T63)
- Avani Lekhra won the Bronze medal in Women's R8 50 meters Rifle (SH3)
- Harvinder Singh won the Bronze medal in Archery
- Manoj Sarkar won the Bronze medal in Badminton Men's Single (SL3)
Journey to the Paralympics Glory
Avani Lekhara wrote history when she won India's first medal in female shooting following a bronze medal.
She also became the first Indian athlete to win multiple medals in one year.
Firstly she won gold in shooting in the women's R2 10 meters rifle standing followed by a bronze medal in Women's R8 50 meters Rifle (SH3).
Another shooter who portrayed his charisma was Singhraj Adhana , who won two medals. First, a silver medal in Mixed 50m pistol (SH1) category and then a bronze medal in Men's 10m air rifle (SH1) category.
History was written again when Harvinder Singh won a bronze in Archery. This is India's first ever medal in Archery in the Paralympic games. The journey of glory continued with India winning a record numbers of medals in badminton.
Indian shuttler, Pramod Bhagat won 2 gold medals - Men's singles (SL3), and Krishna Nagar in men's singles (SH6).
Suhas Yathiraj won a Silver medal in Men's Singles Badminton (SL4) and Manoj Sarkar also won a bronze medal in Men's Singles Badminton (SL3).
From the Indian
perspective, this Olympics and Paralympics has been a huge boost to sports in
India. Sports in India have never been considered a priority or an occupation.
It is not given much importance but with the recent glory acquired by the Indian athletes, we hope that the future of sports is improved.
Mariyappan Thangavelu and Devendra Jhajharia won consecutive medals in their respective categories but they were left disheartened since they both had won gold medals in Rio 2016 and were able to bag silver medals this time.
In Javelin throw (F64) another proud Indian, Sumit Antil won the gold medal (68.55 m) and created a new world record. Javelin throw earned India 2 consecutive gold medals.
In 2016 Devendra Jhajharia had won the gold and now Sumit Antil brought it back to India.
Vinod Kumar lost his bronze medal in discus throw (F52) category after being found ineligible in the disability classification assessment. This was a huge disappointment for the Indian contingent.
Thangavelu was originally the flag bearer but due to Covid-19 restrictions and quarantine, the flag bearer was changed to Tek Chand.
Every story has a behind the scenes talking about the struggles of these Paralympics athletes.
They have fought to get to that stage where the entire country watched India win several medals and create history. Such a story comes to my mind when we talk about Avani Lekhara who won a gold and a bronze in two shooting disciplines.
Many people told her that "scooter par kya shooter banegi" but she has given a befitting reply to all of them by winning two medals in the Paralympic games.
Edited by Jerusha Patel
0 Comments