India’s Historic Performance at the 2024 Paris Paralympics

India’s para-athletes have once again made the nation proud at the Paris Paralympics 2024, achieving a new milestone by surpassing their previous best medal count from the Tokyo Paralympics. So far, the team has secured a total of 24 medals, outdoing the 19 medals they brought home from Tokyo. Key highlights of this achievement include Avani Lekhara’s second gold medal in shooting and Sumit Antil’s consecutive gold in javelin. With more events to go, India has a chance to add even more to this already record-breaking tally.

Breaking Records at Paris 2024

In the 2024 Paris Paralympics, India made history by surpassing their best medal tally from the Tokyo Paralympics, where they won 19 medals (5 gold, 8 silver, and 6 bronze). At the Paris Games, the Indian contingent has already secured 24 medals and is poised to add more. Within just two days, on Monday and Tuesday, India clinched 13 medals, marking a significant leap in their Paralympic journey.

Standout Performances: Gold Medal Triumphs

Among the most notable achievements in Paris was Avani Lekhara, who clinched her second gold medal in the women's 10m air rifle standing SH1 event, becoming the first Indian woman to win two Paralympic golds. Equally impressive, Nitesh Kumar claimed gold in men’s singles SL3 badminton, beating Britain’s Daniel Bethell in an intense final. Sumit Antil continued his dominance in javelin, winning his second consecutive Paralympic gold with a record-breaking throw of 70.59 meters.

Gold Medal Winners:

• Avani Lekhara – Women’s 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1
• Nitesh Kumar – Men’s Singles SL3 Badminton
• Sumit Antil – Javelin Throw F64 (Athletics)
• Harvinder Singh – Men’s Individual Recurve Open (Archery)
• Dharambir – Men’s Club Throw F51 (Athletics)

Silver Medal Successes

Several Indian athletes have also brought home silver medals, including Nishad Kumar, who secured his second consecutive silver in the men’s high jump T47, matching his Tokyo performance. Manish Narwal, who won gold in Tokyo, earned silver in the men’s 10m air pistol SH1 final, narrowly missing the top spot. Yogesh Kathuniya added another silver to his collection with a season-best discus throw of 42.22 meters in the F56 event.