The highly anticipated Paris 2024 Summer Paralympic Games kick off with a spectacular opening ceremony on Wednesday night. This incredible event brings together the most exceptional differently-abled athletes from around the globe in the beautiful French capital, Paris.
Medals will be contested in 549 events across 22 sports at the Paris Paralympics, with para-cycling, para-rowing and blind judo being added to the program for these Games.
India will be sending a record-breaking team of 84 athletes to compete in the 2024 Paris Paralympics. These athletes will showcase their talent across 12 different sports in the French capital, with the ambitious goal of surpassing the impressive 19 medals won by India at the Tokyo Paralympics three years ago.
At the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, Indian athletes showcased incredible talent and determination, bringing home a total of 19 medals. Among these, they achieved five gold medals, eight silver medals, and six bronze medals, marking it as India’s most successful performance at the Paralympic Games in terms of medal count.
This year India is set to make history by sending its largest contingent of participants ever. In the previous Tokyo Paralympics held in 2021, India was proudly represented by 54 athletes across nine different sports.
Gold medal prospects for India at Paralympics
In the upcoming Paris Paralympics, there are several standout Indian athletes who are expected to make a mark. Sumit Antil has emerged as a strong contender to retain his javelin gold medal, and all eyes will be on him. Avani Lekhara, Manish Narwal, and Krishna Nagar will also be defending their titles from the Tokyo Paralympics, adding to the anticipation of their performances.
Furthermore, Sheetal Devi made a significant impact at the Asian Para Games in Hangzhou last year, and there is considerable excitement surrounding her potential to secure a gold medal for India. On the other hand, it’s disappointing that Pramod Bhagat, a gold medallist in badminton at Tokyo, will not be participating in Paris due to a doping offense ban.
During the grand opening ceremony, the Indian team will be represented by two remarkable athletes of great distinction: Sumit Antil, the illustrious gold medalist from the Tokyo Paralympics, and Bhagyashree Jadhav, the accomplished silver medalist at the Asian Para Games.
List of Indian Players at Paralympics
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 |
Blind Judo
| Athlete | Event | State |
| Kapil Parmar | Men’s 60 Kg | Madhya Pradesh |
| Kokila | Women’s 48 Kg | Haryana |
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 | Maharashta |
| 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 shooting
| Athlete | Event | State |
| Ahmir Ahmad Bhat | P3-M 25M Pistol | Jammu and Kashmir |
| Rudransh Khandelwel | P1- M 10M Air Pistol P4-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 Pistol P4-X 50M Pistol | Rajasthan |
| Siddhartha Babu | R3-X 10M Air RFL PRN Advertisement R6-X 50M Rifle Prone | Rajasthan |
| Sriharsha Devaraddi Ramakrishna | R3-X 10M AIR RFL PRN R6-X 50M Rifle Prone | Karnataka |
| Avani Lekhara | R2-W 10M AIR RFL STD R3-X 10M AIR RFL PRN R8-W 50M Rifle 3 POS | Rajasthan |
| Mona Agarwal | R2-W 10M AIR RFL STD R6-X 50M Rifle Prone R8-W 50M Rifle 3 POS. | Rajasthan |
| Rubina Francis | P2-W 10M AIR Pistol | Madhya Pradesh |
Para Cycling
| Athlete | Event | State |
| Arshad Shaik | Men’s C2 Ind. Time Trial Men’s C1-3 Road race Men’s C1-3 1000M Time trial Men’s C2 3000M IND.Pursuit | Andhra Pradesh |
| Jyoti Gaderia | Women’s C1-3 IND time trial Women’s C1-3 Road race Women’s C1-3 500M Time trial Women’s C1- 3000M IND. Pursuit | Maharashtra |
Para Badminton
| Athlete | Event | State |
| Krishna Nagar | Men’s singles | Rajasthan |
| Manoj Sarkar | Men’s singles | Uttarakhand |
| Nitesh Kumar | Men’s singles Mixed doubles | Rajasthan |
| Solaimalai Sivarajan | Men’s singles Mixed doubles | Tamil Nadu |
| Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj | Men’s singles Advertisement Mixed doubles | Uttar Pradesh |
| Sukant Kadam | Men’s singles | Maharashtra |
| Tarun | Men’s singles | New Delhi |
| Palak Kohli | Women’s singles Mixed doubles | New Delhi |
| Nitya Sre Sumathi Sivan | Women’s singles Mixed doubles | Tamil Nadu |
| Mandeep Kaur | Women’s singles | Uttarakhand |
| Manasi Joshi | Women’s singles | Gujarat |
| Thulasimathi Murugesan | Women’s singles Mixed doubles | Tamil Nadu |
| Manisha Ramadass | Women’s singles | Tamil Nadu |
Para Canoe
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| 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 Swimming
| Athlete | Event | State |
| Suyash Narayan Jadhav | Men’s 50M butterfly | Maharashtra |
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 Table Tennis
| Athlete | Event | State |
| Sonalben Patel | Women’s singles Women’s doubles | Gujarat |
| Bhavinaben Patel | Women’s singles Women’s doubles | Gujarat |
Para Taekwondo
| Athlete | Event | State |
| Aruna | Women K44-47 Kg | Haryana |
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