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Yuvaraja Karunakaran

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India Paralympics: Top 5 para-athletes to watch out for in Paris 2024

India Paralympics: Top 5 para-athletes to watch out for in Paris

India Paralympics: Top 5 para-athletes to watch out for in Paris 2024

Just a few more days are left for the Paris Paralympics 2024 to get underway, and the Indian Paralympics contingent will be hopeful of winning more medals in Paris. In a crazy fact, the India Paralympics team had won more medals in the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics alone than they did in all the previous editions combined. India won 19 medals at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics whereas they had won a total of 12 medals between the Paralympic Games debut at Tel Aviv in 1968 and the Rio Paralympics 2016. The focus now shifts to the India Paralympics contingent for the Paris Paralympics 2024. In this blog piece, we take a look at the top 5 Indian para-athletes to watch out for in the 2024 Paralympics.

India Paralympics: Top 5 para-athletes to watch out for in Paris 2024

1. Sumit Antil: Para-athletics javelin throw F64 category

India's javelin thrower Sumit Antil who has been selected as one of the flag-bearers for India in the Paris Paralympics 2024, was among India's five gold medallists in the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics and he will be looking to defend his javelin throw title in Paris. Sumit Antil has been in the form of his life since the Tokyo Paralympics 2020, winning consecutive gold medals in the World Championships in 2023 and 2024 as well as in the Hangzhou Asian Para Games 2023. Another gold medal in the 2024 Paralympic Games will make him only the second Indian to win 2 gold medals in javelin throw at the Paralympics after the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) President Devendra Jhajharia.

2. Avani Lekhara: Para-Shooting 10m air rifle shooting standing SH1

Another gold medallist from the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games, 22-year-old Avani Lekhara will be setting her sights on consecutive Paralympic gold medals that will make her the first Indian para-shooter to achieve the feat. Avani Lekhara won a historic gold medal in her debut Paralympics campaign, shooting a new Paralympic record score of 249.6 in the women's 10m air rifle shooting standing SH1 final in Tokyo. It made Avani Lekhara the first Indian woman to win a Paralympic gold medal. She had also won a bronze in the 50-metre Rifle 3 positions SH1 event. Being the India Paralympics team's strongest medal prospect, Lekhara will even be dreaming of winning two gold medals in the same Paralympics which will cement her status as one of the greatest Indian para-athletes of all time.

3. Sheetal Devi: Para-Archery

At the age of 17, Sheetal Devi is a rising star in para-archery. She won 2 gold medals in the individual compound and mixed team compound events along with Rakesh Kumar at the Hangzhou Asian Para Games, and her consistent performances on the global stage make her a top para-athlete to watch out for in the India Paralympics team. Star Indian para-archer Sheetal Devi is a strong favourite to become the first Indian female to win an archery medal at the Paralympics. Sheetal is confident of bagging the gold medal at the Paris Paralympics 2024. The Para archery ranking round starts with the first medal events scheduled for Saturday, August 31.

4. Yogesh Kathuniya: Para discus throw - F56 category

Star India discus thrower Yogesh Kathuniya is a world record holder in the discus throw F56 category. Yogesh's determination and hard work paid off for the India Paralympics team when he won a silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics in the men's F56 discus throw. Since then, he has continued to excel, winning silver medals at the World Para Athletics Championships in 2023 and 2024, as well as at the 2023 Asian Para Games. Yogesh is one of India's top medal prospects in the Paris Paralympics 2024, aiming to break his Silver medal streak. Yogesh Kathuniya has made a name for himself as one of the best discus throwers in the world of para-athletics and is poised to set a new world record in the discus throw at the 2024 Paralympic Games.

5. Harvinder Singh: Para-Archery

The Indian Para archery team is training hard in Compiegne, France ahead of the 2024 Paralympic Games. Harvinder Singh became the first Indian to win a Paralympic medal in archery at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. The Indian para-archers will be aiming to deliver a better performance than the Indian able-archery team, led by Deepika Kumari, who could not win any medals at the Paris Olympics 2024. During the Tokyo Paralympics in 2020, Harvinder Singh won India's first-ever archery medal in the men's individual recurve open final. With only one bronze medal, the Indian para-archers will look to not only increase the medal tally but also change the colour of the medal at the Paris Paralympics 2024.

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