Finance
India’s record-breaking Paralympic Games ended on Sunday, and it was a wonderful ten days. From Avani Lekhara’s gold medal on the shooting range to Navdeep’s javelin gold, everything in between was historic as India’s para-athletes scripted the country’s best Paralympics campaign ever.
As a result, India finished with 29 medals at the Paris Paralympics, including seven golds, nine silvers, and 13 bronze, making it the country’s most rewarded campaign. With 29 medals, India ranked 18th in the points table. Pakistan, who were also participated in the event, finished joint-bottom at 79th place, with only one bronze medal to its name.
India performed admirably in the 2024 campaign, defeating top nations such as Switzerland, Belgium, South Korea, Turkey, and Argentina to conclude the Paris Para Games among the top 20 countries in the world.
In compared to India, the usual heavyweights at the Paralympic Games — China, Great Britain, the United States, Italy, and so on — fared well, finishing among the top ten nations. India, which made considerable progress in Paris, would like to make an even stronger performance in the 2028 LA Para Games.
On Saturday, India won its 29th and final medal at the Paris Paralympic Games, with Navdeep Singh winning gold in the men’s javelin throw F41 classification.
Navdeep, who participates in the category for athletes of short stature, initially won silver after outperforming world record holder Sun Pengxiang of China with a 47.32m throw.
However, that was elevated to an unprecedented gold after Iran’s Sadegh Beit Sayah was disqualified for continuously waving an offensive banner. Pengxiang (44.72m) won silver.
Sayah had managed to edge out the competition with a new Paralympic record of 47.64m in his penultimate throw, but he lost the medal due to his antics.
The International Paralympic Committee rules prohibit competitors from making political gestures at the event, and Sayah was removed from the final results for unsporting/improper conduct.
Simran, assisted by her guide Abhay Singh, won bronze in the women’s 200m (T12) event with an outstanding personal best time of 24.75 seconds.
The 24-year-old from Delhi, who was diagnosed as vision challenged at the time of her early birth, is the current world champion in this event. She had come fourth in the current Games’ 100m competition, and her medal on Saturday helped her redeem her campaign.
Track and field has contributed 17 medals to this total, including four golds. The country is ranked 15th overall, with China leading the way with 208 medals, 90 of which are gold.
For Navdeep, the gold compensates for his fourth-place heartbreak at the Tokyo Games.
Navdeep, an Income Tax Department investigator, has won five national medals since beginning his athletic career in 2017. He earned a medal at the para-world championships earlier this year.
Simran, on the other hand, earned two silver medals at the Asian Para Games in Hangzhou last year and three gold medals in the 100m, 200m, and long jump at the first Khelo India Para Games in December.
She is coached by her husband, Naik Gajendra Singh.
Source:NDTv
