Indian athletes performed brilliantly in Paris Olympics 2024. Many players were out of the competition after coming close to the medal. Despite many efforts, India could only win 1 silver and 5 bronze medals, while the dream of gold medal remained unfulfilled. However, there are still hopes of winning the gold medal in Paris. The reason for this is the Paralympics. The event will officially start after the opening ceremony on 28 August. This time around 4400 athletes from 207 countries and Olympic Committee are going to participate, in which 549 gold medals will be at stake.

Before knowing how and how many medals India can win in this, let us know about its history.

What is Paralympics, how did it start?

People with disabilities participate in the Paralympics. It started in 1960. Its first event was held in Rome. The history of the beginning of the Paralympic Games is linked to the World War. After the Second World War, many soldiers suffered spinal injuries. They were unable to walk and had to remain seated on wheelchairs. British neurologist Sir Ludwig Guttmann used to treat these soldiers. He used sports to treat them.

During the 1948 London Olympics, they organised competitions for these soldiers in collaboration with other hospitals.

This is where the idea of ​​the Paralympics was born and it began with the Rome Olympics in 1960. 400 wheelchair athletes from 23 countries took part in which 57 medal events were played.

India at Paris Paralympics

The Paralympics started in 1960, but India started participating in it from 1968. Talking about the last Tokyo Paralympics 2020, 54 athletes from India participated in it. This time in Paris, a team of 84 players will present their claim in 12 sports. This is the largest Indian contingent in the Paralympics so far.

In Tokyo, Indian players performed brilliantly and won a record 19 medals, including 5 gold, 8 silver and 6 bronze.

Indian athletes performed brilliantly in shooting, badminton and athletics. While India won 5 medals in shooting, it won 8 medals in athletics and 4 medals in badminton. Many of these medalists are going to participate in the Paris Paralympics. Therefore, despite missing the chance in the Olympics, India still has hopes of winning a gold medal in Paris.

These players will be monitored

Avani Lekhara won the gold medal in the 10 meter air event SH-1 in the 2020 Paralympics.

After this, she won the bronze medal for the country in the 50 meter rifle three position. At the same time, Sumit Antil also won the gold medal in the F64 javelin throw event. After that, he has been a two-time world champion and one-time Asian champion. Sumit is currently also the world record holder with 73.29 meters.

Apart from these two, there are some big names like Bhavina Patel in table tennis, Harvinder Singh in archery, Mariyappan Thangavelu in high jump, who can once again shine in the Paralympics. Apart from these, 34 new players will also be a part of the Indian team.

Paris Paralympics President Devendra Jhajharia has expressed hope of a total of 25 medals this time.

Watch live here

Indian fans can watch Paris Paralympics 2024 on TV on DD Sports and Sports18 channels. At the same time, it will also be live streamed, which can be seen on Jio Cinema.