Wikipedia

India at the Paralympics

India first participated in the 1968 Summer Paralympics. The nation has appeared in every edition of the Summer Paralympics since 1984. The Paris 2024 Games marked India's 13th appearance at the Paralympics. The country has never participated in the Winter Paralympic Games.

India at the
Paralympics
IPC codeIND
NPCParalympic Committee of India
WebsiteParalympic India
Medals
Ranked 54th
Gold
16
Silver
21
Bronze
23
Total
60
Summer appearances

India's first medal in the Paralympics came in the 1972 Games, with Murlikant Petkar winning a gold medal in swimming. Up to the recent 2024 Games, India have won 60 medals across all Paralympic Games, with the most successful Paralympic campaign being the Paris 2024 Games with 29 medals including seven gold, nine silver and thirteen bronze.

History

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Stoke Mandeville Games (1960–1984)

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The ninth International Stoke Mandville Games was later designated as the first Paralympics in 1960 and the International Stoke Mandeville Games Federation organized the Paralympic Games till 1984.[1] India made its Paralympics debut in 1968.[2] India's first medal came in the 1972 Games when Murlikant Petkar won the gold medal in the men's 50 meter freestyle event.[3][4] India missed the subsequent two Summer Paralympic Games and returned in the 1984 edition. The nation has appeared in every edition of the Summer Paralympic Games since then while it has never participated in the Winter Paralympic Games.[2] In the 1984 Games, Joginder Singh Bedi became the first Indian multi-medalist after he won a silver and two bronze medals in the athletics events. Bhimrao Kesarkar also won a silver medal in the javelin throw event to help record India's best finish till then with four medals.[5]

Early Paralympic Games (1988–2000)

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Devendra Jhajharia is the most decorated Indian para athlete with two gold and one silver medals.

The 1988 Seoul Paralympics was the first to use the Paralympics name and the event has been held in the same host city as the corresponding Summer Olympic Games since then. The Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) was formed in 1994, five years after the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) was established in 1989.[1][6] India continued to participate in each Paralympic Games thereafter, but failed to win a medal until the 2004 Games.[5]

Early 21st century (2004–2016)

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In 2004, India won two medals with Devendra Jhajharia winning a gold medal in the javelin throw event and Rajinder Singh Rahelu securing a bronze medal in powerlifting.[5] The only Indian medal across the next two editions came from Girisha Nagarajegowda, who won a silver medal in the Men's high jump F42 event at the 2012 Games.[7]

India sent a delegation of 19 athletes for the 2016 Summer Paralympics.[8] India won four medals in the event and the Games also marked the first instance of India winning two gold medals. Mariyappan Thangavelu won the first gold medal in the Men's high jump T42 event. Devendra Jhajharia became the first Indian to win multiple gold medals after his win in the Men's javelin throw F46 event.[5][9] Deepa Malik and Varun Bhati were the other medalists with a silver and bronze medal respectively.[5] Malik became the first Indian woman medalist in the Paralympic Games.[10]

Tokyo Games (2020)

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The Indian contingent for the 2020 Games consisted of 54 people across nine sports.[11] This was the nation's most successful Games ever with 19 medals including five gold, eight silver and six bronze medals before the Paris 2024 Games.[12] [13] Bhavina Patel won India's first medal, a silver in Table Tennis.[14] Avani Lekhara became the first Indian woman paralympic athlete to win a gold medal and she won another bronze medal to become the first Indian woman multiple medalist in Paralympic shooting.[15] Shooter Manish Narwal won another gold medal in 50 m pistol SH1 event and Singhraj Adhana won two shooting medals, a silver and a bronze.[16] Harvinder Singh became the first Indian to win a medal in Paralympic archery after he won a bronze medal in the men's recurve event.[17]

In badminton, Indian shuttlers won four medals including two gold medals by Pramod Bhagat and Krishna Nagar, a silver medal by Suhas Yathiraj and a bronze medal by Manoj Sarkar.[12] In athletics, India won eight medals including one gold, five silver and two bronze medals. Sumit Antil won a gold medal in Javelin throw F64 with a new world record. Mariyappan Thangavelu and Devendra Jhajharia won silver medals to go along with the gold medals they won in the 2016 Games.[12][5] This was Jhajharia third medal, which is the most by an Indian Para athlete in the Paralympic Games along with Joginder Singh Bedi.[18] Nishad Kumar and Praveen Kumar won silver medals and Sharad Kumar and Sundar Singh Gurjar were the other bronze medalists.[12][5]

Paris Games (2024)

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Avani Lekhara is the only Indian female athlete to win three medals including multiple gold medals.

India sent its largest contingent for the 2024 Games consisting of 84 people competing across 12 sports.[19] India has won 29 medals with seven gold, nine silver, and thirteen bronze medals making them the most successful Games ever.[20] Avani Lekhara won a gold medal in shooting for the second consecutive Games and became the first Indian woman paralympic athlete to win back-to-back gold and multiple medals.[21] Kumar Nitesh won a gold medal in badminton at the men's singles SL3 event.[22] Sumit Antil became the first Indian male athlete to defend a title at the Paralympics after he won the gold medal in the men's javelin throw F64 event, while setting two Paralympic records in the process.[23]

Shooter Manish Narwal won a silver medal, his second medal after his gold medal in the 2020 Games.[24] Nishad Kumar and Yogesh Kathuniya won silver medals at the men's high jump T47 and the men's discus throw F56 events respectively, in a repeat of their performance from Tokyo 2020.[25][26] Suhas Yathiraj also won a silver medal for the second consecutive Games in the men's singles SL4 para-badminton event.[27] Thulasimathi Murugesan won the first para-badminton silver medal at the women's singles SU5 event.[28] Ajeet Singh Yadav and Sundar Singh Gurjar won the silver and bronze medals respectively in the men's javelin throw F46 event. This was Gurjar's second medal after he finished third in the same event in the previous Games.[29] Sharad Kumar won his second Paralympic medal, a silver in the men's high jump T63 event. Mariyappan Thangavelu won a medal at his third successive Paralympic Games with a bronze in the same event.[30] Sachin Khilari won India's fifth athletics silver medal, finishing second in the men's shot put F46 event.[31]

Preethi Pal won India's first track medals at athletics by clinching two bronze medals in the women's 100m and 200m T35 events.[32] Mona Agarwal and Rubina Francis also won bronze medals in shooting.[20][33] Sheetal Devi became the youngest Indian Paralympic medalist after she won a bronze medal in the compound archery event along with Rakesh Kumar.[34] Manisha Ramadass and Nithya Sivan won bronze medals in women's para-badminton events.[35] Deepthi Jeevanji won the bronze medal at the women's 400 m T20 race and became the youngest Indian track medalist at the Paralympic Games.[36]

Medal table

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See also: All-time Paralympic Games medal table
Games Athletes Gold Silver Bronze Total Rank
  1960 Rome Did not participate
  1964 Tokyo
  1968 Tel Aviv 10 0 0 0 0 X
  1972 Heidelberg 10 1 0 0 1 25
  1976 Toronto Did not participate
  1980 Arnhem
  /   1984 Stoke Mandeville / New York 5 0 2 2 4 37
  1988 Seoul 2 0 0 0 0 X
  1992 Barcelona 9 0 0 0 0 X
  1996 Atlanta 9 0 0 0 0 X
  2000 Sydney 4 0 0 0 0 X
  2004 Athens 12 1 0 1 2 53
  2008 Beijing 5 0 0 0 0 X
  2012 London 10 0 1 0 1 67
  2016 Rio de Janeiro 19 2 1 1 4 43
  2020 Tokyo 54 5 8 6 19 24
  2024 Paris 84 7 9 13 29 18
  2028 Los Angeles Future events
  2032 Brisbane
Total 233 16 21 23 60 56

Medals by sport

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Medals by sport[5]
Sport Gold Silver Bronze Total
  Athletics 8 16 13 35
  Badminton 3 3 3 9
  Shooting 3 2 4 9
  Archery 1 0 2 3
  Swimming 1 0 0 1
  Table tennis 0 1 0 1
  Powerlifting 0 0 1 1
  Judo 0 0 1 1
Total 16 21 23 60

List of medalists

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Here is the complete list of Indian medalists at the Olympics over the years.[5]

Medal Medalist Games Sport Event
  Gold Murlikant Petkar 1972 Heidelberg   Swimming Men's 50 m freestyle 3
  Silver Bhimrao Kesarkar 1984 Stoke Mandeville / New York   Athletics Men's javelin throw L6
  Silver Joginder Singh Bedi Men's shot put L6
  Bronze Men's javelin throw L6
Men's discus throw L6
  Gold Devendra Jhajharia 2004 Athens   Athletics Men's javelin throw F42-46
  Bronze Rajinder Singh Rahelu   Powerlifting Men's 56 kg
  Silver Girisha Nagarajegowda 2012 London   Athletics Men's high jump F42
  Gold Mariyappan Thangavelu 2016 Rio de Janeiro   Athletics Men's high jump F42
Devendra Jhajharia Men's javelin throw F46
  Silver Deepa Malik Women's shot put F53
  Bronze Varun Singh Bhati Men's high jump F42
  Gold Avani Lekhara 2020 Tokyo   Shooting Women's R2 10 m air rifle standing SH1
Manish Narwal Mixed 50m Pistol SH1
Sumit Antil   Athletics Men's javelin throw F64
Pramod Bhagat   Badminton Men's singles SL3
Krishna Nagar Men's singles SH6
  Silver Bhavina Patel   Table Tennis Women's singles C4
Nishad Kumar   Athletics Men's high jump T47
Yogesh Kathuniya Men's discus throw F56
Devendra Jhajharia Men's javelin throw F46
Mariyappan Thangavelu Men's high jump T63
Praveen Kumar Men's high jump T64
Singhraj Adhana   Shooting Mixed P4 50 m pistol SH1
Suhas Yathiraj   Badminton Men's singles SL4
  Bronze Sundar Singh Gurjar   Athletics Men's javelin throw F46
Sharad Kumar Men's high jump T63
Singhraj Adhana   Shooting Men's P1 10 m air pistol SH1
Avani Lekhara Women's R8 50 m rifle 3 positions SH1
Harvinder Singh   Archery Men's individual recurve open
Manoj Sarkar   Badminton Men's singles SL3
  Gold Avani Lekhara 2024 Paris   Shooting Women's R2 10 m air rifle standing SH1
Kumar Nitesh   Badminton Men's singles SL3
Sumit Antil   Athletics Men's javelin throw F64
Harvinder Singh   Archery Men's individual recurve open
Dharambir Nain   Athletics Men's club throw F51
Praveen Kumar Men's high jump T64
Navdeep Singh Men's javelin throw F41
  Silver Manish Narwal   Shooting Men's P1 10 m air pistol SH1
Nishad Kumar   Athletics Men's high jump T47
Yogesh Kathuniya Men's discus throw F56
Thulasimathi Murugesan   Badminton Women's singles SU5
Suhas Yathiraj Men's singles SL4
Ajeet Singh Yadav   Athletics Men's javelin throw F46
Sharad Kumar Men's high jump T63
Sachin Khilari Men's shot put F46
Pranav Soorma Men's club throw F51
  Bronze Preethi Pal   Athletics Women's 100 m T35
Women's 200 m T35
Mona Agarwal   Shooting Women's R2 10 m air rifle standing SH1
Rubina Francis Women's P2 10 m air pistol SH1
Manisha Ramadass   Badminton Women's singles SU5
Nithya Sre Sivan Women's singles SH6
Sheetal Devi
Rakesh Kumar 		  Archery Mixed team compound
Deepthi Jeevanji   Athletics Women's 400 m T20
Simran Sharma Women's 200 m T12
Hokato Hotozhe Sema Men's shot put F57
Sundar Singh Gurjar Men's javelin throw F46
Mariyappan Thangavelu Men's high jump T63
Kapil Parmar   Judo Men's J1 -60 kg

Multiple medalists and milestones

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Multiple medalists[5]
Athlete Sport Games   Gold   Silver   Bronze Total
Devendra Jhajharia   Athletics 2004, 2016, 2020 2 1 0 3
Avani Lekhara   Shooting 2020, 2024 2 0 1 3
Sumit Antil   Athletics 2020, 2024 2 0 0 2
Mariyappan Thangavelu   Athletics 2016, 2020, 2024 1 1 1 3
Manish Narwal   Shooting 2020, 2024 1 1 0 2
Praveen Kumar   Athletics 2020, 2024 1 1 0 2
Harvinder Singh   Archery 2020, 2024 1 0 1 2
Nishad Kumar   Athletics 2020, 2024 0 2 0 2
Yogesh Kathuniya   Athletics 2020, 2024 0 2 0 2
Suhas Yathiraj   Badminton 2020, 2024 0 2 0 2
Joginder Singh Bedi   Athletics 1984 0 1 2 3
Singhraj Adhana   Shooting 2020 0 1 1 2
Sharad Kumar   Athletics 2020, 2024 0 1 1 2
Preethi Pal   Athletics 2024 0 0 2 2
Sundar Singh Gurjar   Athletics 2020, 2024 0 0 2 2

Milestones

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Milestone Athlete Game(s) Sport Medal(s) Ref
First medalist Murlikant Petkar 1972 Heidelberg   Swimming   Gold [37]
First gold medalist
First multi-medalist Joginder Singh Bedi 1984 Stoke Mandeville / New York   Athletics   Silver
  Bronze
  Bronze 		[38]
First multiple gold medalist Devendra Jhajharia 2004 Athens
2016 Rio de Janeiro 		  Athletics   Gold
  Gold 		[39]
First double podium finish Mariyappan Thangavelu 2016 Rio de Janeiro   Athletics   Gold [5]
Varun Singh Bhati   Bronze
First woman medalist Deepa Malik 2016 Rio de Janeiro   Athletics   Silver [40]
First one-two finish Manish Narwal 2020 Tokyo   Shooting   Gold [5]
Singhraj Adhana   Silver
First woman gold medalist Avani Lekhara 2020 Tokyo   Shooting   Gold
  Bronze 		[15]
First woman multi-medalist
First woman multiple gold medalist Avani Lekhara 2020 Tokyo
2024 Paris 		  Shooting   Gold
  Gold 		[21]
First double podium finish in a women's event Avani Lekhara
2024 Paris   Shooting   Gold [5]
Mona Agarwal   Bronze

See also

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References

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