Paris Paralympics 2024 Day 8 Highlights: Kapil Parmar wins historic judo bronze for India’s 25th medal; 4th place for Simran in 100m T12 and Harvinder-Pooja in archery

Arvind's final throw is just over the 12m mark but he steps out for a foul. He finishes 6th with a mark of 13.01.

Arvind's fifth attempt is a 12.71, no improvement. The top spot seems already sealed by the reigning world champ with a new Paralympic Record, breaking a mark set in Beijing 2008, but could be an interesting battle for 2nd spot. 

This is a nice graphic from SAI Media. 

The order reverses now for the last three rounds, based on the first three marks. Arvind's 4th attempt is 12.85, not an improvement over his third attempt.

Arvind's third effort is also an improvement, so he is progressing well from where he started. Three attempts to go still (since this already is only a 8-man field).

12.34m for his 2nd effort by Arvind, and that's an improvement. But to move up from 6th spot even, he will need to produce a PB. (His current PB of 14.77 is the 5th place mark). Would be creditable if he can get close to that of course. 

First attempts are done, and the are already three huge 15m+ throws.

Arvind is here for India's final event of the day. Would definitely need an improvement of his PB 14.77 going by the start list.

He starts off with a 11.79m throw, a Season Best it says on screen but he didn't a registered mark for this season coming into this event, so that's there. 

As more medal? events take place on day 9?? of the #ParisParalympics2024??, let's chant out loud for the remaining #IndianContingent.

From #ParaPowerLifting?? to #ParaAthletics??‍??, our heroes are aiming ? for the top spot.

Keep chanting #Cheer4Bharat and show your support with… pic.twitter.com/yEpOBuJWF1

— SAI Media (@Media_SAI) September 5, 2024

On a day India ticked off their pre-event target of reaching at least 25 medals, there were two close misses too as Simran in para athletics and the team of Harvinder Singh and Pooja in para archery finished fourth in their respective events at the Paris Paralympics. 

At the Stade de France, Simran's Round 1 and Semifinals had raised expectations of a possible podium finish in Women's 100m T12. But in a closely-fought battle behind the champion, Simran finished fourth. Accompanied by her guide Abhay Singh, Simran clocked 12.31 seconds. Cuba's Omara Durand Elias comfortably won the gold with a timing of 11.81 seconds. The silver went to Ukraine's Oksana Boturchuk and bronze to Germany's Katrin Mueller who recorded 12.17s and 12.26s respectively.

Earlier on Thursday, Simran had advanced to final after clocking 12.33 in the semifinals and had produced a season's best effort of 12.17 in her heats on Wednesday. Either of those two timings would have put her in contention for a medal in the four-woman final. She has one more event in Paris, the 200m where she is the World Champion. But Durand would start that event as the favourite too.

In archery, Harvinder came close to adding another medal after his gold in the individual event, but he and Pooja missed out on some golden opportunities during their last two matches to miss out on the podium. In the battle for bronze, India lost to Slovenia in a shootoff.

One more event left for India today. Arvind in Men's Shot Put F35. 

Cuba's omara Durand, who comfortably won the 100m, will be going for a stunning triple gold in the 200m too.

Simran is the World Champion over 200m, but worth noting, Durand wasn't at the Worlds though, so she will start the favourite in the event once more. 

This was interesting from an Indian perspective for a brief while. Ashok, however, couldn't get a clear on his attempt of 199kg. And the bronze eventually went for 209 kg anyway, so wouldn't have mattered. 

Here's the photo finish for the race. So close behind the Cuban champion

Simran misses bronze by 0.05 seconds! A close race, behind the obvious favourite, with three runners in a close battle for 2-3-4 and it is Simran who finishes fourth. 

On the bright side, it is 200m that she is the world champion in. 

Alright then, we are close to Simran's 100m T12 final! 

Simran has the third best timing from semifinals for the fourth athletes who have qualified for the final. 

Ah well. Amir Jafari of Iran nearly dropped the barbell on his chest with his first attempt at 203kg but he clears it with his 2nd attempt! 

Pushes Ashok down to fourth place. 

Ashok with a good lift at 199kg! And this time he gets three clearances from all three judges as well.

Well, well. This is getting a bit more than just "slightly" interesting from an Indian point of view.

Well this is getting slightly interesting. Bsed on starting weights, Ashok wasn't really in medal contention, but after the first round, he is only one of the 5 athletes with a lift to his name. 

Ashok's first list is at 196kg and he gets two white flags out of three judges... and that is a good lift.

Lifters with higher starting weights are still to come. 

PARA POWERLIFTING: 

How powerlifting works: Lifters select their own weights for the barbell. A coach helps them remove the bar from the racks. On command, the lifter lowers the bar to their chest, holds it, and then presses it overhead until their arms are fully straight, with the elbows fully locked. Judges decide if the lift is successful. Lifters get three tries, and the one who lifts the heaviest weight wins. Three attempts per athlete.

There are only different weight categories in this event, there are no other classifications. Any athletes "with a functional limitation of the lower limbs or hips that prevents them from practising standing weightlifting compete together."

For powerlifting, the eligible impairments are:

• Orthopaedic disability
• Cerebral palsy
• Neurological disability
• Paraplegia and tetraplegia
• Evolving neurological disability
  
  

Having already put together their best-ever medals tally at the Summer Paralympic Games, India ticked off another target on Day 8 of the Paris Games on Thursday as they hit the 25-medal milestone. Kapil Parmar made history by winning India's first-ever Para Judo medal at the Paralympics, defeating Elielton de Oliveira of Brazil with an ippon. 

But there was another fourth-placed finish too, to close off archery proceedings at Invalides. Harvinder Singh, who won India's first-ever gold in Archery at the Games on Wednesday, had a shot at another medal alongside Pooja in the mixed team recurve event. They defeated Australia and Poland to reach the semifinals but lost against seeds Italy for a spot in the final. In the bronze medal match, they had a strong chance to beat Slovenia in the fourth set, but after squandering it, they lost in a shootoff.

Among other athletes in action will be Simran, who reached the women's 100m T12 the final with the third overall best timing in the semifinal. India's Arvind will feature in the men's shot put F35 Final. Kapil Parmar and Kokila will represent India in Para Judo quarterfinals - men's 60kg J1 and women's 48Kg J2 categories respectively.

India's shooting events came to a close as Mona Agarwal and Sidhartha Basu missed out on reaching the final in Mixed 50m Rifle Prone SH1.

And so India's archery campaign ends at Invalides with another fourth-placed finish in a mixed team event. 

It ever was thus. 

SHOOTOFF: Harvinder Singh starts with a low 8! OH DEAR. Dejan with a 9*. It is effectively a match-winning arrow. Pooja shoots a 9. Slovenia just need 8 to win this match and it is a stunning 10. 

Alright then, time for the shootoff. Harvinder Singh to shoot first and that could help India put some pressure on Slovenia. 

TWO HUGE ARROWS coming up. Highest combined score wins. IF it is tied. arrow closest to the center. 

Set 4, India 4-4 Slovenia: India just need to split the sets. After 7 and 9 by Slovenia... Harvinder starts with 9, but Pooja with a 7! Geez. We are all level with 2 arrows left each. 10 & 8 for Slovenia, for a total of 34. India need 18 from 2 arrows to win bronze... and Pooja shoots a 5. That is a disastrous arrow. Harvinder's arrow doesn't matter. 

We are going into a shootoff. 

Set 3, India 4-2 Slovenia: Harvinder finished Set 2 with a 10, and he starts Set 3 with a 10 too! Sometimes dead arrows can be crucial too. Pooja with a 9 too and India put the pressure on Slovenia. Dejan too starts with a 10 too. Ziva then drops an 8. Once again, India have a window. Pooja shoots a 10! Harvinder with a solid 9* and it is enough for India to win the set. 

India go from 29 in Set 2 to 38 in Set 3! The wild wild world of Indian archery. 

Set 2, India 2-2 Slovenia: Slovenia start the shooting, and they shoot a 8 and 8. Big chance for India to get a 4-0 lead... and it is a disappointing 6 & 5 from Harvinder and Pooja. That is a massive miss. Slovenia win the set even before the last two arrows from India. 

Forgettable set from India really, but recurve gives you the chance to reset. 

Set 1, India 2-0 Slovenia: Harvinder starts the match with a solid 9. Pooja's arrow is in a good line but just dips below into the red zone for 8. But the Indians have a 17-15 lead after two arrows. Just need 19 to win this set... but they shoot 16! Missed opportunity for the Indians. Dejan dips to 7 though and that means India have won the won set. Harvinder's 9 was the only arrow in the gold ring in that set.

Heere we go then. Slovenia vs India.

Screengrab: Paralympics YouTube

Slovenia are 7th seeds: Ziva Lavrinc and Dejan Fabcic were seeded 7th after the ranking rounds, India come into this match as the 5th seeds. But of course that matters for very little.

Oh dear, that is a heartbreaking defeat for Slovenia. A 5 in a shootoff! Even if that was a six, they would have won it because their other arrow was a 10 while Turkey shot two 8s. 

BRONZE MEDAL MATCH: India vs Slovenia coming up shortly. 

A lovely embrace after the bronze medal match, judo is a sport where respect is at the forefront of the core principles.

Kapil Parmar, meanwhile, creates a moment of history for India. 

From our preview:

AT RIO 2016, India's para Olympians returned home with four medals, two more than the able-bodied athletes. The tally jumped to 19 medals at the next Summer Games at Tokyo in 2021. As the 2024 Paralympic Games get underway with the opening ceremony in Paris on Wednesday, India will be looking to continue this upward trajectory.

The hopes are high as the largest-ever para-contingent of 84 athletes will be seen at venues where India, earlier this month, got five medals. Double paralympic medalist Devendra Jhajharia, who is now president of the Paralympic Committee of India, has a number in mind when he speculates on India's medal count.

'Our 84-member team has come here with great enthusiasm. As the President of the Paralympic Committee, I want to tell you that we are going to create history in this tournament,' Jhajharia said in a video message after the contingent reached the Games village. 

De Oliveira Elielton Vs Parmar Kapil:

BRONZE MEDAL ALERT. 

IPPON! And with just one quick attack, India have their first-ever Paralympics medal in Para Judo! Kapil Parmar with the bronze medal in Para Judo - Men -60 kg J1. India have Medal No. 25 in Paris.

Set 4, India 2-6 Italy: Harvinder starts proceedings with a solid 9, but Pooja drops in to the red zone for 8. The Italians respond with two 9s and that is an advantage to Italy. India shoot two SUPERB 10s with their last 2 arrows. They can do that much only in this situation. They are asking Italy to hit at least 18 with their last two arrows... and they go all the way with 10s. 

Top seeds shot like the top seeds there. 

FOURTH SET COMING UP: India MUST win to take this match to a shootoff. Italy just need a draw.

Set 3, India 2-4 Italy: Right then, Harvinder and Pooja start the set with two really solid 9s. Italy with a 7 and 9, gives India a nice window. Pooja with a 10! That is solid. Harvinder's 9 gives India the set without needing Italy's 2nd arrows.

These are the average arrows at the moment. 

Indians need to desperately reset here. 

Set 2, India 0-4 Italy: Harvinder with a 7 to start the 2nd set. Oh dear. And Pooja with a 4. This set is all but over with the first two overs. Quite disappointing for the Indians. The target is huge for the Italians in this set now And they shoot two 10s. Stunning. Nothing left in this set for India really, after 5 arrows in the set, Italians have an effectively 10 point lead. They need 9 from two arrows. 

Set over with one arrow to go. And Italians make it 10, 10, 10, 10. That's a remarkably one-sided set.

Set 1, India 0-2 Italy: Superb arrow from Travisani, a 10 to start. The Italians finding the gold zone in the first set. 10, 9, 9... but Mijno with a 8. India started with 9 and 8. Oh boy, Pooja with a 6 and Harvinder with 8. That is a poor set from the Indians. 36-31 for Italy. That Travisani 10 at the start was the clincher there in that set. 

Now, India will get to shoot first.

Italians will start this match. 

Meanwhile, just a few minutes back, Slovenia beat China in a thrilling shootoff. Alright time now for the semifinals. 

A

Time for India vs Italy in the semifinal. Italy came through a tricky match against Indonesia. They have the women's top seed and bronze medallist Elisabetta Mijno leading their charge, alongside Stefano Travisani. 

PARA JUDO QUICK GUIDE:

Classifications: 

• J1: Athletes in this category have a more severe vision impairment, ranging from partial sight to complete blindness. They may require additional support, such as a guide, before, during, and after a match. 
• J2: Athletes in this category have a partial sight impairment. They may have some visual acuity, but their vision is still significantly limited.

Format: There are TWO bronze medals and all losing quarterfinalists enter into two rounds of repechage, not just the ones who lose to the eventual finalist like in wrestling.

Grip: Judokas must maintain a grip on their opponent's judogi (uniform) throughout the match. Losing grip results in a stoppage.

Objective: The goal is to throw an opponent to the ground, immobilize them, or force a submission.

Scoring:

• Ippon: Awarded for a powerful, controlled throw that lands the opponent on their back, a submission, or a 20-second pin. An ippon results in immediate victory.
• Waza-ari: Awarded for a less-than-perfect throw or a pin lasting 10-20 seconds. Two waza-ari equal an ippon.

Match Duration: Matches last four minutes, with breaks excluded.

Victory: The judoka with the highest score at the end of the match wins, unless an ippon is achieved.

India vs Italy to start around 7.45 pm. Can Harvinder confirm his 2nd medal in Paris? That would be quite an achievement. 

It will be India vs Italy in the semifinal, with the winner guaranteed a medal and the other team going into the bronze medal match. 

Italy weren't flawless, but India will need to up their game. The last two wins have each come from one archer picking up the other's slack, they could use a match with high levels from both.

ITALY WIN A THRILLER: Mixed Team Recurve Open Harvinder & Pooja will take on top seeds Italy in the SF Italy come through an entertaining semifinal against Indonesia, with the match potentially going either way till the very last arrow. Setiawan could have won the match with a 10, or tied it up with a 9. But it was a 7. 

Here's the bracket. India will face the winner of Italy (top seeds) vs Indonesia. ITA vs INA begins now. 

Set 3, India 6-0 Poland: Poland will shoot first again... and this time Milena with a 7! But Lukasz finds the gold zone with a 9. Harvinder starts with an 8 for India... and now Pooja needs a strong arrow again. And she does it again with a 10! What a time for Pooja to find her rhythm. Milena with a 8, Lukasz with a 8. India need just 15 with her last 2 arrows to win the match. Pooja with 9, Harvinder 9! (Both on the lines). 

INDIA WIN 6-0! INTO THE SEMIFINALS!

Set 2, India 4-0 Poland: Poland will start this Set since they are trailing... Milena to go first and it is a 9 to start this. Lukasz is struggling here, the silver medallist is not quite at the level needed yet, as he shoots a 7. It's level after 2 arrows each. India can win the set with 17 points though... and FINALLY, Pooja with a 10. And that is important as Harvinder shoots a 7! Pooja bails out India there, and that is good team archer.

SET 1, India 2-0 Poland: Superb start from Harvinder, who is taking the arrow and last arrow of the sets once again. It's a 10 from him, and an 8 from Pooja. Poland respond with 10, 7. Harvinder with a 9, nice. Milena's superb 9 gives Lukasz a chance to win this set... and he shoots a 6!

First set to India. 

India vs Poland... here we go.

It will be an immediate rematch of sorts with Harvinder Singh on one side and Lukasz Ciszek of Poland on the other side. That was the battle for gold last night that Harvinder dominated, I would presume Ciszek will be looking for a quick reversal.

Comments from gold medallist Harvinder SINGH (IND) after the Men’s Individual Recurve Open competition at Invalides on Wednesday. 

On winning gold:

"It feels fantastic, because it was a dream from 12 years ago when I started archery.

"I just controlled my emotions, movements, controlled my shooting, and the result is this gold medal.

"I have been practising very well the last few months, even scoring more than the world record. 

"Unfortunately, I slipped to ninth in qualification (last Thursday), but I just made my emotions strong and just focused on my next match, because only then can I move into other rounds and, one by one, one match, one match, then finally the gold."

On archery:

"Archery, in one word, I can say is my life."

On why he started archery:

"I was just looking at the London (2012) Olympics on TV, and the Paralympics, and that was the first time I was encouraged to start archery. In August 2012, after watching the London Olympics, I just started archery."

On the medal:

"I would like to dedicate this medal to my coaches, my family, and everyone from India."

Comments from silver medallist Pranav SOORMA (IND) after the Men’s Club Throw F51 final at Stade de France on Wednesday.

On taking the silver medal:

"This is my debut in the Paralympic Games, and I believe that being a part of these Games is itself a big glory for an athlete. 

"Winning a medal is, I think, something above cloud nine. So I'm really happy that I qualified for these Games, made my debut and won my medal on my debut. So I'm really happy that I could do this for my country. 

"I believe the medal not only belongs to just the athlete, but the team staff that is with them - like the squad, physio, coaches, nutritionists, everyone, and especially the whole country, India. So I would like to dedicate my medal to my country."

On his future ambitions in the sport:

"I've been working really hard for the past few years. 

"My father has been with me through thick and thin - whether it's early morning training sessions, late night sessions, international training camps. Every competition that I go to he's always with me.

"We are just trying to explore different kinds of exercises, nutrition and things that could, eventually, keep me growing in this field. 

"So, definitely, I am working harder and harder, and I would love to become a better version of myself each day.

"And, really, next time I would like to change the colour (of the medal)."

For the first four of his six attempts in Men's Club Throw F51, Dharambir struggled. He just couldn't the club cleanly out of the seated throwing area that is surrounded by a net, and when he did, it went outside the throwing sector. He came into the event as a medal favourite, as he had won bronze at the World Championships. And suddenly, with two throws left (in seated throws athlete throw all six tries in one go) he was in trouble. 

He then took a pause, adjusted his harnesses, reset his poisure, got his grip adjusted and with the fifth attempt, threw a massive 34.92m for a new Asian Record. No one else would overtake him for the rest of the event, and Dharambir ended up winning India's fifth gold medal at the Paralympics, equalling the tally from Tokyo. 

"As quadriplegic athletes we are not even able to hold the club, so we use a sticky gum in our fingers. Sometimes it is not in our control how it will release from the hand," Dharambir said after the final. "For the first four throws, I was not able to get it right. This happens a lot with me. But I was confident that one straight throw would bring rewards, and it did. After my fifth throw, I knew I would win a medal but wasn’t sure which colour. In the end it was my day. It was my throw that stood up, and I got gold."

: Kapil Parmar's bronze medal bout will be 5th on Mat 1, session starts at 7.30 pm

Comments from gold medallist DHARAMBIR (IND) after the Men’s Club Throw F51 final at Stade de France on Wednesday.

On throwing four fouls before his winning effort:

"As quadriplegic athletes we are not even able to hold the club, so we use a sticky gum in our fingers. Sometimes it is not in our control how it will release from the hand.

"For the first four throws, I was not able to get it right. This happens a lot with me. But I was confident that one straight throw would bring rewards, and it did.

"After my fifth throw, I knew I would win a medal but wasn’t sure which colour. In the end it was my day. It was my throw that stood up, and I got gold."