India At The Paralympics: History, Debut, Track-Record, Medal Winners And Tally
After an Indian athlete's disappointing outing at the Olympics, all eyes will be on India's para-athletes who are all set to compete in the Paris Paralympics 2024, starting from August 28. The hopes will be high and all the preparations and hard work will be at stake as India is aiming for at least 25 medals from the contingent.
Indian Contingent For Paris Paralympics 2024 (ANI)
After a successful and record-breaking Olympics in 2024, the buzz around the upcoming Paris 2024 Paralympics is also sky-high. With the Paris Paralympics is set commence from August 28, the Indian contingent is getting ready to feature in the world’s greatest sporting platform for differently-abled athletes.
India didn't have a perfect Olympic Games as the Indian contingent had to return without a gold medal as almost six players missed out on a medal by the narrowest margin while one athlete being disqualified from the final. India's aim to cross take their medal tally in double digits remained as dream as they managed to finish with only six medals including five bronze and a silver.
However, the hopes and expectation will also be huge from India's para-athletes who will look to script history, registering their best-ever medal tally count in the highly anticipated Paris Paralympics 2024. India announced its largest-ever contingent for the Paris 2024 Paralympics, featuring 84 athletes including 32 women. The team will compete in 12 sports, adding para-cycling, para-rowing, and blind judo. So let’s just delve into the matter and understand, how was India’s performance in the Past.
India's debut at the Paralympics:
India's journey at the Paralympics began at the 1968 Games, except for the 1976 and 1980 editions. India made its maiden appearance at the Paralympics in 1968 in Tel Aviv, Israel. A total of 10 athletes were sent to the games as part of the Indian contingent, including eight men and two women. India, however, returned home without any medals from the games, but it was the first real experience for India’s para-athletes on the big stage.
India's track record:
India's performance at their debut Paralympics was forgettable, but four years later at the 1972 Heidelberg Games in Germany, India bagged their first medal at the Paralympics. Para-swimmer Murlikant Petkar registered a world record time of 37.331 seconds to win a gold medal in the 50m freestyle swimming event. Recently, the Kartik Aryan starrer Bollywood movie - Chandu Champion is filmed on Petkar's inspiring story of becoming the Paralympics Champion.
It was the only medal earned by India at the Games, which helped them finish at the 24th spot in the overall medal tally from the 42 participating nations. After winning their first gold in 1972, India did not participate in the 1976 and 1980 Games, with their next appearance coming in the 1984 Games. In 1984, Joginder Singh Bedi made history by clinching three medals across three different events.
However, after Bedi's heroics, Indian athletes failed to win a medal till the 2004 Athens Paralympics for its next set of medals. Devendra Jhajharia won gold in the Men's Javelin F44/46 and Rajinder Singh Rahelu won a powerlifting bronze in the 56 kg category in the 2004 Athens Games. The Rio 2016 Paralympics saw India's medal haul reach to four medals, including its first-ever female Paralympic medalist Deepa Malik, who clinched a silver in the F53 shot put event.
Tokyo 2020 was India's strongest performance to date at the Paralympics, securing 19 medals, with five gold medals, eight silver medals, and six bronze medals. Notably, the Tokyo edition saw India send its largest-ever contingent, with 54 athletes set to compete across nine different sports.
Here’s a breakdown of India’s medals across the various editions:
S. No.
Edition
Gold
Silver
Bronze
Total
1
1972 Heidelberg
1
-
-
1
2
1984 UK/USA
-
2
2
4
3
2004 Athens
1
-
1
2
4
2012 London
-
1
-
1
5
2016 Rio de Janeiro
2
1
1
4
6
Tokyo 2020
5
8
6
19
Here’s the full list of Indian Paralympic medal winners:
