India create history with 20 medals at Paris Paralympics 2024: How Para Athletics added five late medals on Day 6 to go past Tokyo

In Tokyo, the 19 medals were split between Athletics (8), Shooting Sport (5), Badminton (4) and one each from Table Tennis and Archery. As of the 20-medal mark, India have already overtaken their total of athletics medal tally (10 as of Tuesday). In badminton too, they went one better than Tokyo, finishing with five medals, although that count is fewer than what was hoped for. Shooting Sport is currently on 4 medals, but there are events still to come.

The athletics tally is reflective of the fact that India registered their best tally at the World Championships earlier this in Kobe, where they won 17 medals. In badminton, there were initial expectations of at least 8 medals, but the suspension of Tokyo 2020 MS SL3 gold medallist Pramod Bhagat (for a whereabouts failure) put a dent in that, while Krishna Nagar (also a Tokyo medallist) suffered an injury and exited in the group stage. But the loss of those medals were made up by three women stepping up to the plate. Shooting Para Sport too continued to deliver, after no medals in the sport before Tokyo. Avani Lekhara, once again the star of the show, defended her gold medal in the 10m rifle event.

After the 8 medals on Monday – the most India have ever won on a single day at the Paralympics – here’s how India got to 20 on Tuesday.

Deepthi Jeevanji – Women’s 400m T20 (Bronze)

After misses earlier in the day, where Bhagyashri Jadhav and Avani Lekhara finished 5th in their respective athletics and shooting events of the day, the first medal came on the track at the Stade de France. 20-year-old Deepthi came into Paris as the World Champion and World Record holder in the women’s 400m T20 event (for intellectual impairment). While she comfortably qualified for the final, her World Record was overtaken by Aysel Onder of Turkey in another Heat. In the final, Deepthi ran a largely steady race but there was chaos around her. Onder’s event appeared to be heading for a medal-less finish but the Turkish pulled off a stunning finish to overtake Deepthi for a silver. The gold went to Yuliia Shuliar of Ukraine, who wasn’t seen as one of the pre-race contenders. But in the end, it was a fine bronze for Deepthi, which gave India their third track medal of the Games.

Paris 2024 Paralympics – Athletics – Women’s 400m – T20 Round 1 – Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France – September 2, 2024 Deepthi Jeevanji of India in action. (REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes)

Mariyappan Thangavelu – Men’s High Jump T63 (Bronze)

No medal at this level is to be taken for granted, but after defending champion USA’s Sam Grewe shockingly exited the event at a height of 1.77m, there must have been genuine hope for Thangavelu to finish top and win his second gold. After looking flawless till the height of 1.85m however, Thangavelu failed three times at 1.88m. There was disappointment evident on his face, and he looked deflated even while holding the national flag at the end after his bronze. But as fellow high jumper Nishad Kumar and coach Sathyanarayana seemed to remind him from the stands, Thangavelu has now entered the elite club of three-time Paralympic medallists, to go with his gold in Rio and silver from Tokyo.

Sharad Kumar – Men’s High Jump T63 (Silver)

Early in the event, Sharad had a quite horrible missed clearance where he didn’t even end up on the other side of the bed, hitting the bar and landing in front of it. At that instant, a medal seemed far for him. But the Tokyo bronze medallist fought back superbly for two 2nd time clearances at 1.85m and 1.88m, setting a new Paralympic Record in his classification of T42. And with that effort, he improved his bronze from Tokyo and entered the expanding club of multiple medallists from India.

Sundar Singh Gurjar – Men’s Javelin Throw – F46 (Bronze)

Men’s javelin throw continues to be a rich source of medals. Sundar has an eventful history with the Paralympics. The 2019 World Champion was one of the medal contenders back even at Rio 2016 but he missed the call for the event and did not start. Three years back in Tokyo, he clinched bronze behind Devendra Jhajharia’s silver. He is the current World Record holder too, and started the night in Paris strongly. But after holding down the second spot till the business end, he was overtaken by Ajeet. Sundar kept pushing but held his back in pain after the last throw, perhaps a sign he was battling a niggle. But once again, an Indian athlete medalled back-to-back from Tokyo, as he finished with 64.96m as the best throw.

Ajeet Singh and Shiv Sundar Gurjar (R) at the Paris Paralympics on Tuesday. (SAI)

Ajeet Singh – Men’s Javelin Throw F46 (Silver)

Coming into the event Ajeet was probably the third favorite for a medal from the Indian trio. Sundar was the World Record holder, and Rinku had won silver at the Worlds. But it was a fine late charge from Ajeet Singh, who was in third place in the early stages of the event, then threw a new Personal Best of 65.62m with his fifth attempt, a new Personal Best. That was enough for him to pip teammate Sundar Singh Gurjar and finish with silver.