India at Paris Paralympics: Athletes, history, flag bearers, schedule, medal hopefuls

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Paris Olympics are in the horizon and it is now the turn of Paralympics in the French capital. At the Tokyo Paralympics three years ago, India won their record number of medals – 19 (five gold, eight silver, six bronze). With that in mind, expectations are high from India’s largest contingent to depart for the Paralympics.

As Paris Olympics has already showcased, large contingent size and pressure of record tally from the past does not necessarily translate into continued growth.

India’s medal winners in Paralympics history

However, the Paralympians will be keen on proving that the Paris Olympics were an anomaly. And to buck that trend are 84 Indian athletes who will be in Paris to bring laurels to the country.

What has been India’s history at the Paralympics?

Games Gold Silver Bronze Total
1960 Rome Did not participate
1964 Tokyo Did not participate
1968 Tel Aviv
1972 Heidelberg 1 1
1976 Toronto Did not participate
1980 Arnhem Did not participate
1984 UK/USA 2 2 4
1988 Seoul
1992 Barcelona
1996 Atalanta
2000 Sydney
2004 Athens 1 1 2
2008 Beijing
2012 London 1 1
2016 Rio de Janeiro 2 1 1 4
2020 Tokyo 5 8 6 19
Total 9 12 10 31

India’s Paralympics medal winners

Athlete Medal Event Games
Murlikant Petkar Gold Swimming, Men’s 50m freestyle 3 Heidelberg 1972
Bhimrao Kesarkar Silver Men’s javelin throw L6 Stoke Mandeville/New York 1984
Joginder Singh Bedi Bronze Men’s javelin throw L6 Stoke Mandeville/New York 1984
Joginder Singh Bedi Silver Men’s shot put L6 Stoke Mandeville/New York 1984
Joginder Singh Bedi Bronze Men’s discus throw L6 Stoke Mandeville/New York 1984
Devendra Jhajharia Gold Men’s javelin throw F44/ 46 Athens 2004
Rajinder Singh Rahelu Bronze Men’s 56 kg Athens 2004
Girisha N Gowda Silver Men’s high jump F42 London 2012
Mariyappan Thangavelu Gold Men’s high jump F42 Rio 2016
Varun Singh Bhati Bronze Men’s high jump F42 Rio 2016
Devendra Jhajharia Gold Men’s javelin throw F46 Rio 2016
Deepa Malik Silver Women’s shot put F53 Rio 2016
Bhavina Patel Silver Women’s singles table tennis Class 4 Tokyo 2020
Nishad Kumar Silver Men’s high jump T47 Tokyo 2020
Avani Lekhara Gold Women’s 10m air rifle shooting standing SH1 Tokyo 2020
Devendra Jhajharia Silver Men’s javelin throw F46 Tokyo 2020
Sundar Singh Gurjar Bronze Men’s javelin throw F46 Tokyo 2020
Yogesh Kathuniya Silver Men’s discus throw F56 Tokyo 2020
Sumit Antil Gold Men’s javelin throw F64 Tokyo 2020
Singhraj Adhana Bronze Men’s 10m air pistol shooting SH1 Tokyo 2020
Mariyappan Thangavelu Silver Men’s high jump T42 Tokyo 2020
Sharad Kumar Bronze Men’s high jump T42 Tokyo 2020
Praveen Kumar Silver Men’s high jump T64 Tokyo 2020
Avani Lekhara Bronze Women’s 50m rifle 3 positions SH1 Tokyo 2020
Harvinder Singh Bronze Men’s individual recurve – open archery Tokyo 2020
Manish Narwal Gold Men’s 50m pistol SH1 Tokyo 2020
Singhraj Adhana Silver Men’s 50m pistol SH1 Tokyo 2020
Pramod Bhagat Gold Men’s singles badminton SL3 Tokyo 2020
Manoj Sarkar Bronze Men’s singles badminton SL3 Tokyo 2020
Suhas Yathiraj Silver Men’s singles badminton SL4 Tokyo 2020
Krishna Nagar Gold Men’s singles badminton SH6 Tokyo 2020

India competed in their first Paralympic Games at Tel Aviv 1968. The first medal, a gold, came courtesy swimmer Murlikant Petkar in the 50m freestyle at Heidelberg 1972.

12 years after Petkar’s gold, India were once again on the podium at the Paralympics. At Innsbruck 1984, India won two silvers and two bronze in para athletics.

It was followed by a gap of two decades before Devendra Jhajharia’s javelin gold and Rajinder Singh’s bronze in powerlifting at Athens 2004.

India put themselves firmly in Paralympic contention at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020. Nineteen athletes from five sports travelled to Brazil, almost double the contingent size from London 2012, resulting in three Para athletics medals.

Jhajharia added his second javelin title, with Mariyappan Thangavelu joining him with high jump gold. Deepa Malik’s silver in the shot put was the first Paralympic medal for an Indian woman.

How did India fare at the Tokyo Paralympics?

At Tokyo 2020, India sent its largest Paralympic contingent of 54 athletes in nine sports and it paid dividends. In shooting Para sport, Avani Lekhara became the first Indian to win two Paralympic medals at one Games, taking gold in the women’s 10m air rifle standing SH1 event and bronze in the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions SH1.

Thangvelu and Jhajharia both added silvers to their Paralympics golds, and Indian recorded a total of 19 medals – five golds, eight silvers and six bronze.

What to expect from Indian para-athletes at Paris 2024?

Mona Agarwal won gold for India while Avani Lekhara clinched bronze at the Para Shooting World Cup. SAI media

Coming into Paris Paralympics, Indian athletes are on a high. At the Hanzghou 2022 Asian Para Games, held in October 2023, 303 athletes competed across 17 sports, and won a record 111 medals – the most India has ever won at an international multi-sport event.

Three Indians broke world records in Hangzhou: Gurjar Sundar Singh threw 68.6m in the javelin F46 event, Sumit Antil threw 73.29m in the javelin F64, while the men’s compound Para archery team scored a world record 158 points.

Lekhara was the bright spark in shooting Para sport, with gold in the 10m air rifle standing SH1, and there were medals won in diverse sports such as Para canoe, Para badminton and Para powerlifting.

The momentum continued at the World Para Athletics Championships in Kobe earlier in the year, with gold for runner Simran in the women’s 200m T12 final. In total, India won 17 medals – including six golds – which is the highest for the country at the World Championships.

What is India’s contingent size for the Paris Paralympics?

India are sending their biggest Paralympics contingent for a single edition with 84 members. Athletics is the biggest contributor with 38 competitors, followed by badminton (13), shooting (10), archery (6), powerlifting (4), para-canoeing (3), cycling, judo, rowing, table tennis (2) and swimming, taekwondo (1).

Para Archery

Athlete Event State
Harvinder Singh Men’s Individual recurve open Haryana
Rakesh Kumar Men’s Individual compound open Jammu and Kashmir
Shyam Sunder Swami Men’s Individual compound open Rajasthan
Pooja Women’s Individual recurve open Haryana
Sarita Women’s Individual compound open Haryana
Sheetal Devi Women’s Individual compound open Jammu and Kashmir

Para Athletics

Athlete Event State
Nishad Kumar Men’s high jump Himachal Pradesh
Sumit Men’s Javelin throw Haryana
Mariyappan Thangavelu Men’s high jump Tamil Nadu
Sachin S Khilari Men’s shot put Maharashtra
Rinku Men’s javelin throw Haryana
Ajeet Singh Men’s javelin throw Uttar Pradesh
Sandeep Men’s javelin throw New Delhi
Yogesh Kathuniya Men’s discus throw New Delhi
Dharambir Men’s club throw Haryana
Navdeep Men’s javelin throw Haryana
Manu Men’s shot put Haryana
Parveen Kumar Men’s javelin throw Haryana
Ram Pal Men’s high jump Haryana
Ravi Rongali Men’s shot put Andhra Pradesh
Sandip Sanjay Sargar Men’s javelin throw Maharashtra
Sundar Singh Gurjar Men’s javelin throw Rajasthan
Shailesh Kumar Men’s high jump Bihar
Sharad Kumar Men’s high jump Bihar
Mohd Yasser Men’s shot put Punjab
Rohit Kumar Men’s shot put Haryana
Pranav Soorma Men’s club throw New Delhi
Amit Kumar Men’s club throw Haryana
Arvind Men’s shot put Haryana
Dipesh Kumar Men’s javelin Uttar Pradesh
Praveen Kumar Men’s high jump Uttar Pradesh
Dilip Mahadu Gavit Men’s 400M Maharashtra
Soman Rana Men’s shot put Meghalaya
Hokato Hotozhe Sema Men’s shot put Nagaland
Deepthi Jeevanji Women’s 400M Telangana
Simran Women’s 100M, 200M Uttar Pradesh
Preeti Pal Women’s 100M, 200M Uttar Pradesh
Bhagyashri M Jadhav Women’s shot put Maharashtra
Rakshita Raju Women’s 1500M Karnataka
Sakshi Kasana Women’s discus Uttar Pradesh
Amisha Rawat Women’s shotput Uttarakhand
Karam Jyothi Women’s discus Haryana
Kanchan Lakhani Women’s discus Haryana
Bhavanaben Ajabaji Chaudhary Women’s Javelin Gujarat

Para Badminton

Athlete Event State
Krishna Nagar Men’s singles Rajasthan
Manoj Sarkar Men’s singles Uttarakhand
Nitesh Kumar Men’s singlesMixed doubles Rajasthan
Solaimalai Sivarajan Men’s singlesMixed doubles Tamil Nadu
Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj Men’s singlesMixed doubles Uttar Pradesh
Sukant Kadam Men’s singles Maharashtra
Tarun Men’s singles New Delhi
Palak Kohli Women’s singlesMixed doubles New Delhi
Nitya Sre Sumathi Sivan Women’s singlesMixed doubles Tamil Nadu
Mandeep Kaur Women’s singles Uttarakhand
Manasi Joshi Women’s singles Gujarat
Thulasimathi Murugesan Women’s singlesMixed doubles Tamil Nadu
Manisha Ramadass Women’s singles Tamil Nadu

Para Canoe

Athlete Event State
Prachi Yadav Women’s VA’A single 200M Madhya Pradesh
Yash Kumar Men’s Kayak single 200M Uttar Pradesh
Pooja Ojha Women’s Kayak single 200M Madhya Pradesh

Para Cycling

Athlete Event State
Arshad Shaik Men’s C2 Ind. Time TrialMen’s C1-3 Road raceMen’s C1-3 1000M Time trialMen’s C2 3000M IND.Pursuit Andhra Pradesh
Jyoti Gaderia Women’s C1-3 IND time trialWomen’s C1-3 Road raceWomen’s C1-3 500M Time trialWomen’s C1- 3000M IND. Pursuit Maharashtra

Blind Judo

Athlete Event State
Kapil Parmar Men’s 60 Kg Madhya Pradesh
Kokila Women’s 48 Kg Haryana

Para Powerlifting

Athlete Event State
Parmjeet Kumar Men’s upto 49 Kg Punjab
Ashok Men’s upto 65 Kg Haryana
Sakina Khatun Women’s upto 45 Kg Karnataka
Kasthuri Rajamani Women’s upto 67 Kg Tamil Nadu

Para Rowing

Athlete Event State
Narayana Konganapalle PR3 Mix doublesSculls-PR3 Mix 2X Andhra Pradesh
Anita PR3 Mix doublesSculls-PR3 Mix 2X Rajasthan

Para shooting

Athlete Event State
Ahmir Ahmad Bhat P3-M 25M Pistol Jammu and Kashmir
Rudransh Khandelwel P1- M 10M Air PistolP4-X 50M Pistol Rajasthan
Manish Narwal P1-M 10M Air Pistol Haryana
Swaroop Mahavir Unhalkar R1- M 10M Air Rifle Maharashtra
Nihal Singh P3- X 25M PistolP4-X 50M Pistol Rajasthan
Siddhartha Babu R3-X 10M Air RFL PRNR6-X 50M Rifle Prone Rajasthan
Sriharsha Devaraddi Ramakrishna R3-X 10M AIR RFL PRNR6-X 50M Rifle Prone Karnataka
Avani Lekhara R2-W 10M AIR RFL STDR3-X 10M AIR RFL PRNR8-W 50M Rifle 3 POS Rajasthan
Mona Agarwal R2-W 10M AIR RFL STDR6-X 50M Rifle ProneR8-W 50M Rifle 3 POS. Rajasthan
Rubina Francis P2-W 10M AIR Pistol Madhya Pradesh

Para Swimming

Athlete Event State
Suyash Narayan Jadhav Men’s 50M butterfly Maharashtra

Para Table Tennis

Athlete Event State
Sonalben Patel Women’s singlesWomen’s doubles Gujarat
Bhavinaben Patel Women’s singlesWomen’s doubles Gujarat

Para Taekwondo

Athlete Event State
Aruna Women K44-47 Kg Haryana

What is India’s schedule at Paris Paralympics?

28 August, Wednesday

Opening Ceremony – 11:30 PM

29 August, Thursday

Para badminton

Mixed doubles group stage – 12:00 PM onwards
Men’s singles group stage – 12:00 PM onwards
Women’s singles group stage – 12:00 PM onwards

Para swimming

Men’s 50m freestyle S10 – 1:00 PM onwards

Para table tennis

Women’s doubles – 1:30 PM onwards
Men’s doubles – 1:30 PM onwards
Mixed doubles – 1:30 PM onwards

Para taekwondo

Women’s K44-47kg – 1:30 PM onwards

Para shooting

Women’s 10m air rifle standing SH1 pre-event training – 2:30 PM
Mixed 10m air rifle standing SH2 pre-event training – 4:00 PM
Men’s 10m air pistol SH1 pre-event training – 5:45 PM

Para cycling

Women’s C1-3 3000m individual pursuit qualifying – 4:25 PM

Para archery

Women’s individual compound open ranking round – 4:30 PM
Men’s individual recurve open ranking round – 4:30 PM
Men’s individual compound open ranking round – 8:30 PM
Women’s individual recurve open ranking round – 8:30 PM

30 August, Friday

Para taekwondo

Women’s K44-47kg gold medal contest – 12:04 AM

Para badminton

Women’s singles group stage – 12:00 PM onwards
Men’s singles group stage – 12:00 PM onwards
Mixed doubles group stage – 7:30 PM onwards

Para archery

Women’s individual compound open round of 32 – 12:30 PM onwards
Men’s individual compound open round of 32 – 7:00 PM onwards

Para shooting

Women’s 10m air rifle standing SH1 qualification – 12:30 PM
Men’s 10m air pistol SH1 qualification – 2:30 PM
Women’s 10m air rifle standing SH1 final – 3:15 PM
Mixed 10m air rifle standing SH2 qualification – 5:00 PM
Men’s 10m air pistol SH1 final – 5:30 PM
Women’s 10m air pistol SH2 pre-event training – 7:00 PM
Mixed 10m air rifle standing SH2 final – 7:45 PM
Men’s 10m air rifle standing SH1 pre-event training – 8:30 PM

Para athletics

Women’s discus throw F55 final – 1:30 PM
Women’s 100m T35 final – 4:39 PM

Para table tennis

Men’s doubles quarter-finals – 1:30 PM onwards
Women’s doubles quarter-finals – 1:30 PM onwards
Mixed doubles quarter-finals – 1:30 PM onwards

Para rowing

Mixed doubles sculls PR3 heats – 3:00 PM

Para cycling

Men’s C2 3000m individual pursuit qualifying – 4:24 PM
Men’s C2 3000m individual pursuit final bronze – 7:11 PM
Men’s C2 3000m individual pursuit final gold – 7:19 PM

31 August, Saturday

Para athletics

Men’s shot put F37 final – 12:20 AM
Men’s javelin throw F57 final – 10:30 PM

Para shooting

Men’s 10m air rifle standing SH1 qualification – 1:00 PM
Women’s 10m air pistol SH1 qualification – 3:30 PM
Men’s 10m air rifle standing SH1 final – 3:45 PM
Mixed 10m air rifle prone SH2 pre-event training – 5:30 PM
Women’s 10m air pistol SH1 final – 6:15 PM
Mixed 10m air rifle prone SH1 pre-event training – 7:00 PM

Para cycling

Women’s C1-3 500m time trial qualifying – 1:30 PM
Men’s C1-3 1000m time trial qualifying – 1:49 PM
Women’s C1-3 500m time trial final – 5:05 PM
Men’s C1-3 1000m time trial final – 5:32 PM

Para table tennis

Women’s doubles WD10 semi-finals – 1:30 PM onwards
Women’s doubles WD10 gold medal match – 10:45 PM

Para rowing

Mixed doubles sculls PR3 repechages – 2:40 PM

Para archery

Women’s individual compound open round of 16 – 7:00 PM onwards
Women’s individual compound open quarter-finals – 9:16 PM onwards
Women’s individual compound open semi-finals – 10:14 PM onwards

Para badminton

Mixed doubles semi-finals – 7:30 PM onwards

1 September, Sunday

Para badminton

Men’s singles semi-finals – 12:00 PM onwards
Women’s singles semi-finals – 12:00 PM onwards
Finals matches – 10:10 PM onwards

Para shooting

Mixed 10m air rifle prone SH1 qualification – 1:00 PM
Mixed 10m air rifle prone SH2 qualification – 3:00 PM
Mixed 25m pistol SH1 pre-event training – 4:00 PM
Mixed 10m air rifle prone SH1 final – 4:30 PM
Mixed 10m air rifle prone SH2 final – 6:30 PM

Para athletics

Women’s 1500m T11 round 1 – 1:40 PM
Men’s shot put F40 final – 3:09 PM
Men’s high jump T47 final – 10:58 PM
Women’s 200m T35 final – 11:08 PM

Para rowing

Mixed doubles sculls PR3 final B – 2:00 PM
Mixed doubles sculls PR3 final A – 3:40 PM

Para archery

Men’s individual compound open round of 16 – 7:00 PM onwards
Men’s individual compound open quarter-finals – 9:16 PM onwards
Men’s individual compound open semi-finals – 10:24 PM onwards
Men’s individual compound open bronze medal match – 11:13 PM
Men’s individual compound open gold medal match – 11:30 PM

Para table tennis

Women’s singles round of 32 – 10:30 PM onwards
Women’s singles round of 16 – 10:30 PM onwards

2 September, Monday

Para shooting

Mixed 25m pistol SH1 qualification precision – 12:30 PM
Women’s 50m rifle 3 positions SH1 pre-event training – 12:30 PM
Men’s 50m rifle 3 positions SH1 pre-event training – 12:30 PM
Mixed 25m pistol SH1 qualification rapid – 4:30 PM
Mixed 25m pistol SH1 final – 8:15 PM

Para athletics

Men’s discus throw F56 final – 1:35 PM
Women’s 1500m T11 final – 1:40 PM
Men’s javelin throw F64 final – 10:30 PM
Women’s discus throw F53 final – 10:34 PM
Women’s 400m T20 round 1 – 11:50 PM

Para table tennis

Women’s singles round of 32 – 1:30 PM onwards
Women’s singles round of 16 – 1:30 PM onwards

Para archery

Mixed team compound open round of 16 – 7:00 PM onwards
Mixed team compound open quarter-finals – 8:20 PM onwards
Mixed team compound open semi-finals – 9:40 PM onwards
Mixed team compound open bronze medal match – 10:35 PM
Mixed team compound open gold medal match – 10:55 PM

Para badminton

Finals matches – 8:00 PM onwards

3 September, Tuesday

Para archery

Women’s individual recurve open round of 32 – 12:30 PM onwards
Women’s individual recurve open round of 16 – 12:30 PM onwards
Women’s individual recurve open quarter-finals – 8:30 PM onwards
Women’s individual recurve open semi-finals – 9:38 PM onwards
Women’s individual recurve open bronze medal match – 10:27 PM
Women’s individual recurve open gold medal match – 10:44 PM

Para shooting

Women’s 50m air rifle 3 positions SH1 qualification – 1:00 PM
Men’s 50m air rifle 3 positions SH1 qualification – 1:00 PM
Mixed 50m rifle prone SH2 pre-event training – 4:15 PM
Mixed 50m pistol SH1 pre-event training – 6:00 PM
Women’s 50m air rifle 3 positions SH1 final – 7:30 PM

Para athletics

Women’s shot put F34 final – 2:26 PM
Women’s 400m T20 final – 10:38 PM
Men’s high jump T63 final – 11:40 PM

Para table tennis

Women’s singles round of 16/quarter-finals/semi-finals – 1:30 PM onwards
Men’s singles round of 16/quarter-finals/semi-finals – 1:30 PM onwards

4 September, Wednesday

Para athletics

Men’s javelin throw F46 final – 12:10 AM
Men’s shot put F46 final – 1:35 PM
Women’s shot put F46 final – 3:16 PM
Men’s club throw F51 final – 10:50 PM
Women’s 100m T12 round 1 – 11:00 PM

Para cycling

Women’s C1-3 road time trial – 11:30 AM onwards

Para archery

Men’s individual recurve open round of 32 – 12:30 PM onwards
Men’s individual recurve open round of 16 – 12:30 PM onwards
Men’s individual recurve open quarter-finals – 9:00 PM onwards
Men’s individual recurve open semi-finals – 10:08 PM onwards
Men’s individual recurve open bronze medal match – 10:54 PM
Men’s individual recurve open gold medal match – 11:14 PM

Para shooting

Mixed 50m pistol SH1 qualification – 1:00 PM
Mixed 50m pistol SH1 final – 3:45 PM
Mixed 50m rifle prone SH2 – 4:00 PM
Mixed 50m rifle prone SH1 pre-event training – 5:30 PM
Mixed 50m rifle prone SH2 final – 6:30 PM

Para table tennis

Women’s singles quarterfinals/semi-finals/finals – 1:30 PM onwards

Para powerlifting

Men’s up to 49kg final – 3:30 PM
Women’s up to 45kg final – 8:30 PM

5 August, Thursday

Para shooting

Mixed 50m rifle prone SH1 qualification – 1:00 PM
Mixed 50m rifle prone SH1 final – 3:15 PM

Para athletics

Women’s 100m T12 semi-finals – 3:10 PM
Women’s 100m T12 final – 10:47 PM
Men’s shot put F35 final – 11:49 PM

Para judo

Women’s 48kg preliminary rounds – 1:30 PM onwards
Men’s 60kg preliminary rounds – 1:30 PM onwards
Women’s 48kg finals – 7:30 PM onwards
Men’s 48kg finals – 7:30 PM onwards

Para archery

Mixed team recurve open quarter-finals – 6:30 PM onwards
Mixed team recurve open semi-finals – 7:50 PM onwards
Mixed team recurve open bronze medal match – 8:45 PM
Mixed team recurve open gold medal match – 9:05 PM

Para powerlifting

Men’s up to 65kg final – 10:05 PM

6 August, Friday

Para athletics

Women’s 200m T12 round 1 – 1:39 PM
Men’s javelin throw F54 final – 2:08 PM
Men’s 400m T47 round 1 – 2:47 PM
Men’s high jump T64 final – 3:18 PM
Men’s shot put F57 final – 10:30 PM
Women’s javelin throw F46 final – 10:38 PM
Women’s 200m T12 semi-finals – 11:10 PM

Para canoe

Men’s kayak single KL1 200m heats – 1:30 PM
Women’s Va’a single VL2 200m heats – 1:50 PM
Women’s kayak single KL1 200m heats – 2:55 PM

Para table tennis

Women’s singles WS3 semi-finals – 1:30 PM
Women’s singles WS3 gold medal match – 11:45 PM

Para powerlifting

Women’s up to 67kg final – 8:30 PM

7 September, Saturday

Para cycling

Women’s C1-3 road race – 1:00 PM
Men’s C1-3 road race – 1:00 PM

Para canoe

Men’s kayak single KL1 200m semi-finals – 1:30 PM
Women’s Va’a single VL2 200m semi-finals – 1:58 PM
Men’s kayak single KL1 200m final A – 2:50 PM
Women’s Va’a single VL2 200m final B – 3:14 PM
Women’s Va’a single VL2 200m final A – 3:22 PM

Para table tennis

Women’s singles WS4 semi-finals – 1:30 PM onwards
Women’s singles WS4 gold medal match – 9:30 PM

Para athletics

Men’s javelin throw F41 final – 10:30 PM
Women’s 200m T12 final – 11:03 PM

8 September, Sunday

Para canoe

Women’s kayak single KL1 200m semi-finals – 1:30 PM
Women’s kayak single KL1 200m final A – 2:55 PM

9 September, Monday

Closing Ceremony – 12:30 AM

Who are India’s lead medal hopefuls?

Avani Lekhara won gold in shooting at the Tokyo Paralympics. She is gunning for further glory in Paris. Reuters file photo

Shooter Avani Lekhara and javelin thrower Sumit Antil are the top of the charts as far as expectations are concerned.

Avani had won gold in women’s R2 10m air rifle standing SH1 in Tokyo, whereas Sumit won gold in men’s F64 javelin throw event three years ago.

Shooter Manish Narwal and shuttler Krishna Nagar are also among those who would be looking to defend their title from Tokyo.

Other 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).

Who are India’s flag bearers at Paris Paralympics opening ceremony?

Sumit Antil and Bhagyashri Jadhav will be India’s joint flag bearers during the opening ceremony on Wednesday. The ceremony will be held outside a stadium for the first time in the history of Paralympic Games.





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