India scripts history with 20 medals at Paris Paralympics 2024
In a remarkable show of perseverance and strength, India's para-athletes added five more medals on the evening of Day 6 at the Paris Paralympics 2024 to create history by surpassing their previous best tally of 19 medals achieved at the Tokyo Paralympics in 2020.
Led by an outstanding performance in para-athletics, the Indian contingent ensured the success of Paris 2024 would be their most decorated Paralympics campaign to date. Late on Tuesday night, para-athletes shone on the track to win four medals in quick succession across two popular disciplines – sprint and field events.
20-year-old sprinter Deepthi Jeevanji brought home the first medal of the night, a hard-earned bronze in the women's 400m T20 event. Meanwhile in the men's high jump, two-time Asian Para Games gold medalist Mariyappan Thangavelu clinched bronze while Rio 2016 silver medalist Sharad Kumar improved on his previous Paralympics performance to take home silver.
In the javelin throw competitions, theIndian duo of Sundar Singh Gurjar and Ajeet Singh added to the medals tally. Sundar, who had previously won bronze in Tokyo, repeated his podium finish by throwing over 64 meters. Ajeet produced a stellar performance in the late stages to register a new personal best throw and delight the nation with a silver medal.
With these five additions, para-athletics alone has now accounted for 10 medals in Paris, surpassing its previous best tally from Tokyo. In doing so, India ensured the most successful outing in their Paralympic history journey, with still several days of competition remaining. It has undoubtedly been a momentous evening for the nation to celebrate unprecedented triumphs on the global stage.
