Games of perseverance

Paris, August 27

Battered by life but not beaten by its many challenges, an 84-strong contingent of Indian para-athletes, the largest ever in the country’s history with a heady mix of youth and experience, would be eyeing an unparalleled gold rush when the Paralympic Games begin here tomorrow.

Indian century at opening ceremony

paris: More than 100 members of the Indian contingent, including 52 athletes from various sports, will take part in the Paris Paralympics opening ceremony, which will be held outside a stadium for the first time in the Games’ history, here tommrow. Those athletes who have their competitions on Thursday, including the entire 10-member shooting team, are not taking part in the parade of nations. “All the athletes who have competitions on August 29 will not take part in the opening ceremony as it will be difficult for them to compete next day,” Paralympics Committee of India president Devendra Jhajharia said. Javelin thrower Sumit Antil and shot putter Bhagyashree Jadhav will be the flag bearers. PTI

India won a record 19 medals, including five gold, in the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021 for a 24th-place finish in the overall rankings. Three years on, the country’s target is more than 25 medals with a double-digit haul of gold.

What has fuelled this ambition is the size of the contingent and the exceptional performances in the past one year. India won a record 111 medals, including 29 gold, at the Hangzhou Asian Para Games last year.

This was followed by unprecedented success at the World Para Athletics Championships in May when the country snared 17 medals, including half a dozen gold, for a sixth-place finish in the overall standings.

We had 54 participants in Tokyo. Now we have 84 in Paris, the largest ever, and our target is 25 medals and may be double-digit gold out of that, though I feel the colour of the medal is not that important.

Devendra Jhajharia, President, Paralympics committee of India

Several medal winners in Hangzhou are in this Paralympics team, including top stars like world record-holding javelin thrower Sumit Antil (F64) and rifle shooter Avani Lekhara (10m air rifle standing SH1). Both of them would be defending their gold medals won in Tokyo.

The Games, as much a celebration of sporting skills as of human endurance, club athletes with similar functional abilities in terms of movement, coordination and balance into various classifications. The “degree and nature of their eligible impairments” decide these groups.

For India, the para-athletics team has been a major medal giver in the past and this time too, it is expected to be the biggest contributor with as many as 38 names in fray.

Other top medal contenders include the likes of para-archer Sheetal Devi, who shoots with her legs as she was born without arms, landmine blast survivors Hokato Sema (shot putter) and Narayana Konganapalle (rower) and several other accident amputees.

India is competing in 12 sports this time, as against nine by a 54-member team in Tokyo. Shooter Manish Narwal and shuttler Krishna Nagar are also among those who would be looking to defend their gold medals won in Tokyo.

Antil, whose left leg was amputated owing to an accident when he was 17, had also won gold in the Para World Championships in May and he is hoping to cross the 75m mark in Paris.

Lekhara was the best performer in Tokyo with one gold and one bronze. She was one of the two athletes to win two medals, the other being shooter Singhraj Adhana (silver and bronze). Adhana, however, could not make the current team.

Lekhara is the first Indian woman to win a Paralympics gold medal. She is now primed to join the club of three medal winners in the Paralympics. Current Paralympics Committee of India president Devendra Jhajharia, a javelin thrower, is the most decorated Indian Paralympian with two gold (2004 Athens and 2016 Rio) and a silver (2021 Tokyo).

Joginder Singh Bedi won three medals in the 1984 Paralympics (silver in shot put, a bronze each in javelin throw and discus throw).

Shuttler Krishna Nagar (men’s singles SH6), who has overcome the disadvantage of his short height, is also looking good to defend his gold medal won in Tokyo, more so after winning the title in the World Para Badminton Championships in Thailand in February. The other gold winner in Tokyo, Pramod Bhagat, is, however, serving a suspension for whereabouts failure.

Know the games

4,400

Athletes with disabilities, permanent injuries or impairments are set to compete for 549 medals across 22 sports over 11 days in Paris

Unique events

Of the 22 Paralympics sports, only two do not have an Olympics equivalent — goalball and boccia

Goalball

In goalball, teams of visually impaired or blind players take turns rolling a ball containing bells toward the opposing goal while the defending team’s players act as goalkeepers

Boccia

In boccia, players throw or roll leather balls as close as they can to a small ball called a jack

10 Compared to the previous edition of the Paralympics in Tokyo, 10 medal events have been added to give female athletes and those with high-support needs more opportunities

Birthplace of games

The Paralympics flame was lit Saturday in Stoke Mandeville, a village northwest of London widely considered the birthplace of the Paralympic Games, and will make its way via a torch relay under the English Channel to cities all over France before lighting the cauldron during the opening ceremony

Historic venues

Place de la Concorde, which hosted skateboarding, breaking and 3x3 basketball during the Olympics, will host the opening ceremony

Equestrian returns to Chateau de Versailles, which will host para equestrian events

The Grand Palais transitions from fencing to wheelchair fencing

Archery venue Invalides will host para archery

The venue beside the Eiffel Tower, which hosted beach volleyball during the Olympics, will host blind soccer