Bengaluru:It took India 32 years to travel from Murlikant Petkar’s individual gold medal at 1972 Heidelberg Paralympics to a second gold. It came from Devendra Jhajharia in 2004. Over the past decade, India’s performance at para events has been on an upswing. At the Tokyo Paralympics, India won a record 19 medals, including five gold medals. India returned with a record 111 medals, 29 of them gold, from the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Para Games.

This time, the country will have its largest-ever representation at the Paralympics. 84 Indian para-athletes will be competing in 12 sports this time, as opposed to a 54-member team in Tokyo across nine sports. Will the increased participation lead to more medals? We look at a few of the key names who could help India achieve that goal:

Sumit Antil: The para javelin thrower in the F64 category not just won the gold medal in Tokyo with a best attempt of 68.55m, but also broke the world record thrice on his way to it. He’s since bettered the world record twice last year at the Para World Championships (70.83) and the Para Asian Games (73.29m). Sumit, who lost a limb in a road accident nine years ago, won the gold at this year’s Para World Championships. Two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra had a word of advice for the fellow Indian javelin star. “Neeraj bhai said that I should not try anything new and just trust my preparation by staying cool and steady,” said Sumit, who will be India’s flag bearer along with Bhagyashri Jadhav at the opening ceremony in Paris. “This is the first time that we have such a big contingent going and with so much hope. We are expecting 25 plus medals.”

Avani Lekhara: Three years ago, at the Tokyo Paralympics, Avani etched her name in history. The para shooter became the first Indian woman to win a gold medal at the Paralympics. She also became the first female para-athlete from the country to win multiple medals at a single Paralympic Games. She was just 19 then. At the age of 11, Avani turned paraplegic following a car mishap. A few years later she took up shooting and made her Paralympic debut in Tokyo. Avani might have competition from fellow Indian 10m air rifle shooter Mona Agarwal, who won the Para Shooting World Cup gold in March this year. “There is a lot more awareness now about para sport,” said Avani, “After the Paralympics medals, shooting has grown. New shooters are coming up and our team has many new faces this time. We are hoping to do better than in Tokyo.”

Sheetal Devi: The 17-year-old from Jammu born with a rare congenital condition called phocomelia is the only active female international para-archer to shoot without arms. Much like para-archery legend Mark Stutzman, Sheetal uses her legs and feet to draw the bow and shoot. She had a stellar string of results – silver in the compound women open at the 2023 World Para Archery Championships, and gold medals in both individual compound and mixed team events and a silver in the women’s doubles, at the 2023 Asian Para Games. The Indian teen is currently ranked number one in the compound women open category.

Krishna Nagar: The reigning world champion in the men’s singles SH6 category – for short stature athletes who compete standing – goes into Paris with a will to defend his title. Growing up, he was bullied over his dwarfism and dabbled in a variety of sports – cricket, volleyball, long jump and football. Badminton came calling in 2017. In Tokyo, the 25-year-old from Jaipur became only the second Indian badminton player after Pramod Bhagat to win a gold medal at the Paralympics. Five-time world champion Bhagat will not be competing in Paris since he’s currently serving an 18-month suspension for whereabouts failures.

Yogesh Kathuniya: At a young age, Yogesh was diagnosed with Guillain Barre Syndrome, a neurological disorder causing quadriparesis. He had to use a wheelchair and his mother decided to study physiotherapy to help improve his muscle weakness. It paid off and within a couple of years, Yogesh was able to walk again. At the 2018 Berlin Para Athletics Grand Prix, he won gold and set the world record with a 45.18m throw in the men’s discus F36 event. In Tokyo, he won silver in the F56 discus event. He has since won silver medals at the Para World Championships both in 2023 and 2024. He rewrote his world record with a 48.34m throw in 2022 and in Paris, the 27-year-old is once again looking to shatter records.

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