The Paris Paralympics 2024 will be starting from Wednesday 28th August. There will be over 4,000 athletes competing in 22 sports events. Among them, 84 Indian athletes will be competing for the medals in the major multinational event. Bhagyashree Jadhav and Sumit Antil will be India’s flag bearers. The nation won 19 medals in the last event in Tokyo with five gold, eight silver, and six bronze medals.
India is hoping for at least 25 medals from the Paris Games. They can even achieve the same or more than the target they have. The country’s 16 para-athletes arrived at the ‘Games Village’ on August 25. Three days before the opening ceremony, and before staying in hotels in Paris for a few days. They arrived early to get well accustomed to the weather and the surroundings.
Among the 84 para-athletes, there are some from those the country’s expectations are more than the rest. They will pressure themselves to win a medal for the nation and make their etch their name in the history books. In the article, we will take a look at some Indian para-athletes to watch out for the forthcoming Paris Paralympics 2024 games.
Here are the top 5 Indian para-athletes to watch out for
5. Bhavina Patel
She is an amazing table tennis player. The silver medalist in Class 4 table tennis at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo Olympics. Now she has her eyes set on the gold medal in Paris and there are huge chances of her standing at the podium this time. Bhavina claimed the gold medal at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
4. Suhas Yathiraj
He is the current world’s no.1 para-badminton player. He is an Arjuna awardee. Suhas is a silver medalist in SL-4 category in Tokyo Paralympics 2021. He recently won the gold medal in the world championship. The para-badminton player will look to win gold in the forthcoming Paris games.
3. Sheetal Devi
Devi is an amazing para-archer. She was born with a rare medical condition called phocomelia and is the first and only international para-archery champion without upper limbs. She has won two golds and one silver in the Asian Games in Hangzhou. The 17-year-old will look to make it to the podium in the multinational event.
2. Avani Lekhara
The 22-year-old para-shooter won a gold medal in the 10m air rifle standing. She also won a bronze medal in the 50m rifle 3 positions at the 2020 Summer Paralympics. Presently the World No.1 in Women’s 10m Air Rifle standing SH1 will look for the gold in the Paris Paralympics. Avani was also the first Indian woman to win multiple medals in a single Paralympic Games.
1. Sumit Antil
He is the flag bearer for the Indian team in the Paris Paralympics 2024. The Javelin thrower will be at his second Paralympics. After winning two gold medals in the men’s javelin throw F64 category at the 2020 Summer Paralympics and at the World Championship respectively. Sumit eyes for yet another podium finish in Paris.
