Paralympics 2024: 84, 39, 4 - Indias squad in numbers
The 2024 Paralympics |A|
will be held from |B|
August 28 to September |C|
8 in Paris, with |D|
the best of Indias |E|
athletes looking to break |F|
new ground for para |G|
sports in the country. |H|
India had won |Q| 19 medals in the |R| last edition at Tokyo |S| and the goal now, |U| as set by former |V| gold medallist and now |Y| Paralympic Committee of India |Z| president Devendra Jhajharia, is |A| more than 25 medals.
|B| dir="ltr">That may be an |C| ambitious number, but the |D| hopes are founded on |E| Indias progressing performance at |F| the Para World Championships |G| and then the Hangzhou |H| Para Asian Games. Heres |J| a look at Indias |K| Paris Paralympics squad in |L| numbers:
84
The strength |M| of Indias squad taking |O| part in the Paris |P| Paralympics. This is the |Q| biggest ever contingent India |R| has sent. At the |S| Tokyo Paralympics in 2021, |U| India had a 54-member |V| contingent. The squad will |Y| be accompanied by 95 |Z| officials, which includes the |A| personal coaches of some |B| athletes as well as |C| escorts travelling with them |D| to take care of |E| special needs. The total |F| number of the Indian |G| contingent will thus be |H| 179.
4
India will |J| have four defending gold |K| medallists from Tokyo in |L| Paris. Sumit Antil in |M| mens javelin throw [F64], |O| Krishna Nagar in badminton |P| mens singles [SH6], Avani |Q| Lekhara in womens 10m |R| air rifle shooting standing |S| [SH1] and Manish Narwal |U| in mens 50m pistol |V| shooting [SH1] Pramod Bhagat, |Y| also a gold medallist |Z| at Tokyo in badminton, |A| wont be competing in |B| Paris after being suspended |C| for 18 months due |D| to whereabout failure as |E| per anti-doping regulations.
12
|F| dir="ltr">Indias 84 athletes will |G| be competing across 12 |H| sports - archery, athletics, |J| badminton, canoeing, cycling, blind |K| judo, powerlifting, rowing, shooting, |L| swimming, table tennis, and |M| taekwondo. This is an |O| increase from the nine |P| sports India participated in |Q| at Tokyo.
3
India |R| will be competing in |S| the three new sports |U| at Paris - para-cycling, |V| para-rowing and blind judo.
|Y| dir="ltr">38
Indias largest representation |Z| will be in athletics, |A| with 38 competitors, significantly |B| higher than any other |C| sport. It is also |D| Indias most successful sport |E| at the Paralympics, with |F| 18 of their 31 |G| medals coming from athletics. |H| The next two sports |J| with the most participation |K| at Paris 2024 are |L| badminton with 13 athletes |M| and shooting with 10.
|O| dir="ltr">39
Amit Kumar Saroha, |P| competing in his fourth |Q| Paralympics, is the oldest |R| member of the Indian |S| contingent at 39 years |U| of age. He will |V| represent India in the |Y| discus throw [F51].
17
|Z| dir="ltr">At the other end |A| is Sheetal Devi, who |B| at 17, will be |C| the youngest Indian athlete |D| in Paris. Famous for |E| being an armless archer, |F| the teenager operates the |G| bow and shoots with |H| her legs instead of |J| her hands.
3
The |K| number of times reigning |L| champion Sumit Antil set |M| the world record enroute |O| his javelin throw gold |P| medal at the Tokyo |Q| Paralympics.
His then-best throw |R| of 68.55m won him |S| gold and hes since |U| bettered this record multiple |V| times, significantly at the |Y| 2023 Para World Championships |Z| and then the Hangzhou |A| Para Asian Games, winning |B| gold on both occasions. |C| His personal best of |D| 73.29m is the best |E| across all classifications in |F| para-athletics. He will look |G| to defend his gold |H| with another world record |J| in Paris.
19
India |K| won a total of |L| 19 medals (5 gold, |M| 8 silver, 6 bronze) |O| at the Tokyo Paralympics |P| in 2021, which is |Q| their greatest medal tally. |R| It was a huge |S| step up from the |U| four medals at the |V| 2016 Rio Games.
|Y|
dir="ltr">
