India at the Paralympics

Sporting event delegation

India at the
Paralympics

IPC code| IND
NPC| Paralympic Committee of India
Website| www.paralympicindia.org.in
Medals
Ranked 57th|

Gold

Silver

Bronze

Total

Summer appearances

* 1968
* 1972
* 1976–1980
* 1984
* 1988
* 1992
* 1996
* 2000
* 2004
* 2008
* 2012
* 2016
* 2020
* 2024

India made its Summer Paralympic debut at the 1968 Games, competed again in 1972, and then was absent until the 1984 Games. The country has participated in every edition of the Summer games since then. It has never participated in the Winter Paralympic Games.[1]

India's first medal in Paralympics came in 1972 Games, with Murlikant Petkar winning a gold medal in swimming. India's best finish yet has been in the 2020 Games, at 24th place with a medal haul of 19 medals (5 gold, 8 silver and 6 bronze).[2]

## History

[edit]

India's first medal, and also the first individual gold medal, was won in 1972 Games, when Murlikant Petkar swam the 50 meters freestyle in a world record time of 37.331 seconds.[3] India finished at 25th rank in those games. In 1984, Joginder Singh Bedi won silver at the Men's Shot Put and followed it up with a pair of bronze winning performances in the Discus and Javelin throws. Thus, Joginder became the first multi-medallist Paralympian from India. Bhimrao Kesarkar also won a silver medal in Javelin in 1984 Games. India finished 43rd out of the 54 participating nations.[4]

India continued to participate in each Paralympic Games thereafter, but failed to make an impact until the 2004 Games when Devendra Jhajharia won gold in javelin throw and Rajinder Singh Rahelu won bronze for powerlifting in the 56-kg category.

In 2016 Games, Deepa Malik won a silver medal in Shot Put to become the first Indian woman to win a Parlaympics medal.[5]

The 2020 Games saw India's best-ever medal haul with a total of 19 medals (5 Gold, 8 Silver and 6 Bronze). This result was better than the medal haul of 12 medals of all previous Paralympics appearances combined. The games also had India's best ever participation yet with 54 athletes (40 men, 14 women) across nine sports. It was India's best performance by an overall ranking of 24 (among 162 nations; including Refugee Paralympic Team and Russian Paralympic Committee).[6]

Shooter Avani Lekhara won two medals - gold in 10m Air Rifle SH1 and bronze in 50m Rifle 3 Positions SH1. Thus, she became the first Indian woman to win an individual gold medal and first woman multi-medalist.[7] Shooter Singhraj Adhana also won two medals - silver in 50m Pistol SH1 and bronze in 10m Air Pistol SH1 categories. Para-badminton player Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj became the first civil servant to win a Paralympic medal, a silver in SL4 category.[8]

In 2020 Games, Vinod Kumar initially clinched a bronze medal in the men's discus throw F52 category event. However, other competitors raised questions about his disability and was subsequently designated as "Classification not Completed". His performance was disqualified, resulting in the loss of his medal.[9]

## Medals

[edit]

See also: All-time Paralympic Games medal table

### Medals by Summer Games

[edit]

Games  | Athletes  | Gold  | Silver  | Bronze  | Total  | Rank

|
|
|
|
|
|

1960 Rome | Did not participate
1964 Tokyo
1968 Tel Aviv | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -
1972 Heidelberg | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 25
1976 Toronto | Did not participate
1980 Arnhem
/ 1984 Stoke Mandeville/New York | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 37
1988 Seoul | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -
1992 Barcelona | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -
1996 Atlanta | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -
2000 Sydney | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -
2004 Athens | 12 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 53
2008 Beijing | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -
2012 London | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 67
2016 Rio de Janeiro | 19 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 43
2020 Tokyo | 54 | 5 | 8 |  6 | 19 | 24
2024 Paris | Future event
2028 Los Angeles
2032 Brisbane
Total | 9 | 12 | 10 | 31 | 57

### Medals by Summer Sport

[edit]

Games  | Gold  | Silver  | Bronze  | Total

|
|
|
|

Athletics | 4 | 9 | 5 | 18
Shooting | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5
Badminton | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4
Swimming | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1
Table tennis | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1
Archery | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1
Powerlifting | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1
Total | 9 | 12 | 10 | 31

## Medalists

[edit]

Medal  | Name/Team  | Games  | Sport  | Event

|
|
|
|

Gold | Murlikant Petkar |  1972 Heidelberg | Swimming | Men's 50m Freestyle 3
Silver | Bhimrao Kesarkar |  /  1984 Stoke Mandeville/New York | Athletics | Men's Javelin L6
Silver | Joginder Singh Bedi | Athletics | Men's Shot Put L6
Bronze | Joginder Singh Bedi | Athletics | Men's Javelin L6
Bronze | Joginder Singh Bedi | Athletics | Men's Discus Throw L6
Gold | Devendra Jhajharia |  2004 Athens | Athletics | Men's Javelin F44/46
Bronze | Rajinder Singh Rahelu | Powerlifting | Men's 56 kg
Silver | Girisha Nagarajegowda |  2012 London | Athletics | Men's High Jump F42
Gold | Mariyappan Thangavelu |  2016 Rio de Janeiro | Athletics | Men's High Jump F42
Gold | Devendra Jhajharia | Athletics | Men's Javelin Throw F46
Silver | Deepa Malik | Athletics | Women's Shot Put F53
Bronze | Varun Singh Bhati | Athletics | Men's High Jump F42
Gold | Avani Lekhara |  2020 Tokyo |  Shooting | Women's 10m Air Rifle SH1
Gold | Sumit Antil |  Athletics | Men's Javelin Throw F64
Gold  | Manish Narwal |  Shooting | Mixed 50m Pistol SH1
Gold  | Pramod Bhagat |  Badminton | Men's Singles SL3
Gold  | Krishna Nagar |  Badminton | Men's Singles SH6
Silver | Bhavina Patel |  Table Tennis | Women's Singles C4
Silver | Nishad Kumar |  Athletics | Men's High Jump T47
Silver | Yogesh Kathuniya |  Athletics | Men's Discus Throw F56
Silver | Devendra Jhajharia |  Athletics | Men's Javelin Throw F46
Silver | Mariyappan Thangavelu |  Athletics | Men's High Jump T63
Silver | Praveen Kumar |  Athletics | Men's High Jump T64
Silver  | Singhraj Adhana |  Shooting | Men's 50m Pistol SH1
Silver  | Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj |  Badminton | Men's Singles SL4
Bronze | Sundar Singh Gurjar |  Athletics | Men's Javelin Throw F46
Bronze  | Singhraj Adhana |  Shooting | Men's 10m Air Pistol SH1
Bronze | Sharad Kumar |  Athletics | Men's High Jump T63
Bronze  | Avani Lekhara |  Shooting | Women's 50m Rifle 3 Positions SH1
Bronze  | Harvinder Singh |  Archery | Men's Individual Recurve Open
Bronze  | Manoj Sarkar |  Badminton | Men's Singles SL3

## Multiple Medalists

[edit]

Athlete  | Games  | Sport  |  Gold  |  Silver  |  Bronze  | Total

|
|
|
|
|
|

Devendra Jhajharia |  2004 Athens
2016 Rio de Janeiro
2020 Tokyo |  Athletics | 2  | 1  | 0  | 3
Mariyappan Thangavelu |  2016 Rio de Janeiro
2020 Tokyo |  Athletics | 1  | 1  | 0  | 2
Avani Lekhara |  2020 Tokyo |  Shooting | 1  | 0  | 1  | 2
Joginder Singh Bedi |  /  1984 Stoke Mandeville/New York |  Athletics | 0  | 1  | 2  | 3
Singhraj Adhana |  2020 Tokyo |  Shooting | 0  | 1  | 1  | 2

## 2012 Games Village Controversy

[edit]

During the 2012 Summer Paralympics it was reported that coaches and escorts of the Indian Team were denied accommodation in the Games Village because their permits were being used by officials of the Paralympic Committee of India.[10] The Team's 10 athletes were to be assisted by six coaches and five escorts, but only two escorts were given passes; Paralympic Committee General Secretary Ratan Singh confirmed that he had brought his son, that the Committee president had brought his wife, and the treasurer had brought his wife and daughter.[11]

## See also

[edit]

* India at the Olympics
* India at the World Games
* India at the Asian Games
* India at the Commonwealth Games
* India at the Lusofonia Games
* India at the South Asian Games

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "India's Paralympics medal winners: The full list". Retrieved 31 May 2024.
2. ^ "Tokyo Paralympics: India finishes 24th with record 19 medals". Retrieved 18 March 2023.
3. ^ "How a war hero won India's first Paralympics gold in 1972 | Mumbai News - Times of India". The Times of India.
4. ^ "The lesser-known Olympics". blogger. 2012-08-08. Retrieved 2012-10-13.
5. ^ "Deepa Malik: First Indian woman to win Paralympics medal". Retrieved 18 March 2023.
6. ^ "India's Tokyo 2020 Paralympics medal winners". Retrieved 18 March 2023.
7. ^ "Shooter Avani Lekhara becomes first Indian woman to win gold at Paralympics". The Hindu. September 2021.
8. ^ Noida DM Suhas LY is World No. 3 para shuttler and Asian champion as well | Other Sports News | Zee News
9. ^ "Tokyo Paralympics 2021: Vinod Kumar loses bronze, declared ineligible in classification reassessment". espn.com. 30 August 2021. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
10. ^ "Not provided with escort, alleges Paralympics athlete". thehindu.com. The Hindu. September 3, 2012. Retrieved September 6, 2012.
11. ^ Kumar, Nandini (September 2, 2012). "Officials ditch special athletes at Paralympics". epaper.timesofindia.com. Mumbai Mirror, re-published online by e-paper. p. 22\. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 6, 2012.

* v
* t
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Nations that have competed at the Paralympic Games

Africa|

* Algeria
* Angola
* Benin
* Botswana
* Burkina Faso
* Burundi
* Cameroon
* Cape Verde
* Central African Republic
* Comoros
* Congo
* Democratic Republic of the Congo
* Djibouti
* Egypt
* Ethiopia
* Gabon
* The Gambia
* Ghana
* Guinea
* Guinea-Bissau
* Ivory Coast
* Kenya
* Lesotho
* Liberia
* Libya
* Madagascar
* Malawi
* Mali
* Mauritania
* Mauritius
* Morocco
* Mozambique
* Namibia
* Niger
* Nigeria
* Rwanda
* São Tomé and Príncipe
* Senegal
* Seychelles
* Sierra Leone
* Somalia
* South Africa
* Sudan
* Tanzania
* Togo
* Tunisia
* Uganda
* Zambia
* Zimbabwe

Americas|

* Antigua and Barbuda
* Argentina
* Aruba
* Bahamas
* Barbados
* Bermuda
* Brazil
* Canada
* Chile
* Colombia
* Costa Rica
* Cuba
* Dominican Republic
* Ecuador
* El Salvador
* Grenada
* Guatemala
* Guyana
* Haiti
* Honduras
* Jamaica
* Mexico
* Nicaragua
* Panama
* Paraguay
* Peru
* Puerto Rico
* Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
* Suriname
* Trinidad and Tobago
* United States
* Uruguay
* Venezuela
* Virgin Islands

Asia|

* Afghanistan
* Bahrain
* Bangladesh
* Bhutan
* Brunei
* Cambodia
* China
* East Timor
* Hong Kong
* India
* Indonesia
* Iran
* Iraq
* Japan
* Jordan
* Kazakhstan
* Kuwait
* Kyrgyzstan
* Laos
* Lebanon
* Macau
* Malaysia
* Maldives
* Mongolia
* Myanmar
* Nepal
* North Korea
* Oman
* Pakistan
* Palestine
* Philippines
* Qatar
* Saudi Arabia
* Singapore
* South Korea
* Sri Lanka
* Syria
* Chinese Taipei
* Tajikistan
* Thailand
* Turkmenistan
* United Arab Emirates
* Uzbekistan
* Vietnam
* Yemen

Europe|

* Albania
* Andorra
* Armenia
* Austria
* Azerbaijan
* Belarus
* Belgium
* Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Bulgaria
* Croatia
* Cyprus
* Czech Republic
* Denmark
* Estonia
* Faroe Islands
* Finland
* France
* Georgia
* Germany
* East
* West
* Great Britain
* Greece
* Hungary
* Iceland
* Ireland
* Israel1
* Italy
* Kosovo
* Latvia
* Liechtenstein
* Lithuania
* Luxembourg
* Malta
* Moldova
* Montenegro
* Netherlands
* North Macedonia
* Norway
* Poland
* Portugal
* Romania
* Russia
* San Marino
* Serbia
* Slovakia
* Slovenia
* Spain
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* Turkey
* Ukraine

Oceania|

* Australia
* Winter
* Fiji
* New Zealand
* Papua New Guinea
* Samoa
* Solomon Islands
* Tonga
* Vanuatu

Other|

* Independent Paralympic Participants
* Individual Paralympic Athletes
* Neutral Paralympic Athletes
* Refugee Paralympic Team
* RPC
* Unified Team

Historical|

* Czechoslovakia
* East Germany
* Rhodesia
* Serbia and Montenegro
* Soviet Union
* Yugoslavia

1 Israel has been a member of the European Paralympic Committee (EOC) since 1994.

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National sports teams of India

* A1GP
* Badminton
* Baseball
* M
* W
* Basketball
* M
* M U18
* M U16
* M 3x3
* W
* W U18
* W U16
* W 3x3
* Beach soccer
* Cricket
* M
* M A
* M U19
* W
* W U19
* Blind
* Deaf
* Field hockey
* M
* M U21
* W
* W U21
* Football
* M
* M U23
* M U20
* M U17
* W
* W U20
* W U17
* Futsal
* Handball
* M
* W
* Wheelchair handball
* Ice hockey
* M
* M U20
* M U18
* W
* Inline hockey
* Kabaddi
* M
* W
* Korfball
* Netball
* Roller hockey
* Rugby league
* Rugby union
* M
* M 7s
* W
* W 7s
* Softball
* M
* W
* Squash
* M
* W
* Tennis
* M
* W
* X
* Volleyball
* M
* M U21
* M U19
* W
* W U20
* W U18
* Water polo
* M
* W

* Olympics
* Paralympics
* Asian Games
* Commonwealth Games
* Lusofonia Games
* World Games
* South Asian Games
* World Athletics

* v
* t
* e

Paralympic medalists for India

* 1968
* 1972
* 1984
* 1988
* 1992
* 1996
* 2000
* 2004
* 2008
* 2012
* 2016
* 2020

Gold medalists|

* : Murlikant Petkar (1972 Heidelberg)
* : Devendra Jhajharia (2 titles, 2004 Athens, 2016 Rio de Janeiro)
* : Mariyappan Thangavelu (2016 Rio de Janeiro)
* : Avani Lekhara (2020 Tokyo)
* : Sumit Antil (2020 Tokyo)
* : Manish Narwal (2020 Tokyo)
* : Pramod Bhagat (2020 Tokyo)
* : Krishna Nagar (2020 Tokyo)

Silver medalists|

* : Bhimrao Kesarkar (1984 Stoke Mandeville/New York)
* : Joginder Singh Bedi (1984 Stoke Mandeville/New York)
* : Girisha Nagarajegowda (2012 London)
* : Deepa Malik (2016 Rio de Janeiro)
* : Bhavina Patel (2020 Tokyo)
* : Nishad Kumar (2020 Tokyo)
* : Yogesh Kathuniya (2020 Tokyo)
* : Devendra Jhajharia (2020 Tokyo)
* : Mariyappan Thangavelu (2020 Tokyo)
* : Praveen Kumar (2020 Tokyo)
* : Singhraj Adhana (2020 Tokyo)
* : Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj (2020 Tokyo)

Bronze medalists|

* : Joginder Singh Bedi (2 titles, 1984 Stoke Mandeville/New York)
* : Rajinder Singh Rahelu (2004 Athens)
* : Varun Singh Bhati (2016 Rio de Janeiro)
* : Sundar Singh Gurjar (2020 Tokyo)
* : Singhraj Adhana (2020 Tokyo)
* : Sharad Kumar (2020 Tokyo)
* : Avani Lekhara (2020 Tokyo)
* : Harvinder Singh (2020 Tokyo)
* : Manoj Sarkar (2020 Tokyo)

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