Outstanding, Incredible, Marvellous!!!!!

5th September 2021, Tokyo concluded the Paralympics on Sunday, and mind you, this was the most successful outing for team India. For the first time, India had 54 participants in all disciplines, the highest number to date.

Indians have been regular at the Paralympic games since 1984, and India had achieved only 12 medals before the start of the Tokyo games. Winning 4 Gold, 4 Silver & 4 Bronze medals.

A brief history of the Paralympics

The first Paralympic Games took place in Rome, Italy in 1960 that featured 500 athletes from 23 nations. These games were called Stoke Mandeville Games which were held every year. The International Stoke Mandeville Games were organized for the vision impaired, amputees, people with cerebral palsy, and paraplegics.

In 1960, at the Rome Paralympic Games, an International Working Group on sport for the disabled was set up under the assistance from the World Federation of ex-servicemen to study sports-related problems in people with impairment. The result of this study was the creation of the International Sports Organisation for the Disabled (ISOD) in 1964. ISOD offered opportunities for athletes who could not affiliate with the International Stoke Mandeville Games. And made them a quadrennial event.

The participants in these games increased over the period, and the participating nations too demanded ISOD’s national and regional representation, which were difficult to manage. Finally, in 1989 the global governing body of the Paralympic Movement founded the International Paralympic Committee in Dusseldorf, Germany.

The word Paralympics is derived from the Greek word “para” (alongside or parallel) and the other word Olympics. Meaning games that are held parallel to the Olympic games.

India at Tokyo 2021, Paralympic Games

India’s highest participation before Tokyo was 19 athletes sent to the Rio Games in 2016. At the Rio games, India equaled its previous best by winning 4 medals (in 1984 India had won 4). India nearly doubles the total medal tally at the Tokyo games.

GOLD

SILVER

BRONZE

TOTAL

5

8

6

19

NAME

CATEGORY

EVENT

MEDAL

CLASS

Sumit Antil

Athletics

Men's Javelin Throw

Gold

Sport Class: F64

Pramod Bhagat

Badminton

Men's Singles SL3

Gold

Sport Class: SL3

Krishna Nagar

Badminton

Men's Singles SH6

Gold

Sports Class: SH6

Manish Narwal

Shooting

P4 - Mixed 50m Pistol

Gold

Sport Class: SH1

Avani Lekhara

Shooting

R2 - Women's 10m Air Rifle Standing

Gold

Sport Class: SH1

Yogesh Kathuniya

Athletics

Men's Discus Throw

Silver

Sport Class: F56

Nishad Kumar

Athletics

Men's High Jump 

Silver

Sport Class: T47

Mariyappan Thangavelu

Athletics

Men's High Jump

Silver

Sport Class: T42

Praveen Kumar

Athletics

Men's High Jump

Silver

Sport Class: T44

Devendra Jhajharia

Athletics

Men's Javelin Throw

Silver

Sport Class: F46

Suhas Yathiraj

Badminton

Men's Singles

Silver

Sport Class: SL4

Singhraj Adhana

Shooting

P4 - Mixed 50m Pistol

Silver

Sport Class: SH1

Bhavina Patel

Table Tennis

Women's Singles

Silver

Sport Class: 4

Harvinder Singh

Archery

Men's Individual Recurve - Open

Bronze

Sport Class: ST

Sharad Kumar

Athletics

Men's High Jump 

Bronze

Sport Class: T42

Sundar Singh Gurjar

Athletics

Men's Javelin Throw

Bronze

Sport Class: F46

Manoj Sarkar

Badminton

Men's Singles 

Bronze

Sport Class: SL3

Singhraj Adhana

Shooting

P1 - Men's 10m Air Pistol

Bronze

Sport Class: SH1

Avani Lekhara

Shooting

R8 - Women's 50m Rifle 3 Positions 

Bronze

Sport Class: SH1

Before Tokyo 2021

YEAR

GOLD

SILVER

BRONZE

TOTAL

1972

1

0

0

1

1984

0

2

2

4

2004

1

0

1

2

2012

0

1

0

1

2016

2

1

1

4

When the world is undergoing turmoil, these fine individuals with special capabilities have shown everyone that focussing on your abilities will always lead to success in life. They have richly rewarded the nation with their unrelenting efforts.