Live updates for Day 1 of the Paris Paralympics in 2024: Sheetal Devi in a taekwondo medal round, Aruna Tanwar observing.
Live updates for Day 1 of the Paris Paralympics in 2024: India is a strong contender to surpass their Tokyo record of 19 medals in the 17th Paralympic Games in Paris.
India live at the 2024 Paralympics in Paris:The opening ceremony of the 2024 Paralympic Games will take place on Thursday, August 29, in Paris, the capital of France, on Wednesday evening. Two weeks following the conclusion of the Olympic Games, the 17th Summer Paralympic Games will take place.
India, which broke the record by winning 19 medals at the Tokyo Paralympic Games, will compete in a number of sports, such as taekwondo, badminton, and archery. Sheetal Devi, the 17-year-old youngest member of the Indian contingent, will launch the country’s campaign in the paraarchery competition.
Pros in badminton include Palak Kohli, Manisha Ramdass, Sivarajan Solaimalai, Thulasimathi Murugesan, and Krishna Nagar, who is aiming to defend his Tokyo gold medal. In the para cycling C1-3 3000m individual pursuit, Jyoti Gaderiya is aiming to qualify for the bronze or gold medal event, while Aruna Tanwar is hoping to get to the medal rounds in para taekwondo.
With Tokyo serving as the baseline, there is a great deal of expectation that the Indian delegation to the Paralympics in Paris will produce their best-ever performance. India took home 19 medals from the Tokyo Paralympics three years ago, comprising five gold, eight silver, and six bronze. Again, as recent Games have shown, India would be expected to take home the greatest percentage of medals in the paraathletics category in Paris. However, this time around, notable outcomes are also anticipated in para archery, para badminton, and shooting para sport.
Avani Lekhara lived in Tokyo before Manu Bhaker did in Paris. Avani, who was then a teenager, made history at the previous Paralympic Games by winning two medals, including a gold that made her the first female Indian paralympian champion ever. She has three competitions in Paris: Mixed 10m Air Rifle Prone, Women’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions SH1, and Women’s 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1. She will compete in the 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 event first, where she will be defending the gold medal. Manish Narwal, the current Paralympic and World Champion in the Men’s 10m Air Pistol SH1, is another strong competitor in the shooting sport.
Mariyappan Thangavelu has previously won two medals at the Paralympics. With a clearance of 1.89 meters, he earned gold in Rio 2016 (T42) and finished with a silver in Tokyo (1.86). In a field not too dissimilar from what we will witness in Paris this time, Thangavelu’s gold medal at the most recent World Championships is also encouraging. In fact, with Sharad Kumar and Shailesh Kumar competing in the 8-man field, this might be a very fruitful tournament for India. The Indians’ primary competitors for the podium will be Ezra Frech and Sam Grewe of the USA.
