India has participated in 12 editions of the Paralympics and won a total of 31 medals including 9 gold, 12 silver, and 10 bronze.
Debut
India’s Paralympics journey started in 1968 when it sent a delegation of 10 athletes including two women to Tel Aviv. The participants were unable to secure a medal in any of the events.
First Medal Win
The first Paralympic medal for India was won by Murlikant Petkar in the 1972 Heidelberg Games. He won gold in 50m Freestyle Para Swimming with a world record time of 37.331 seconds.
1984 Comeback
India did not take part in the 1976 and 1980 editions of the Paralympic Games. But when it returned in 1984 at the Stoke Mandeville/New York edition, the country won four medals and finished a joint-37th position with South Korea.
Joginder Singh Bedi was the star of the event with one silver in Men’s Shot Put, and a bronze each in Men’s Discus Throw and Javelin Throw.
Medal Drought Till 2004
India had a tough time at the Paralympics as it failed to win a single medal in the next four editions. The drought ended at the 2004 Athens Paralympics with Devendra Jhajharia winning gold in the Javelin throw and Rajinder Singh winning bronze in the 56kg category of Powerlifting.
Mixed Result Followed Till Rio 2016
At the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, India once again failed to win a single medal. However, in the 2012 London Olympics, India came back in the medal table. HN Girisha won the only medal – a silver in the Men’s High Jump F42 category.
But Rio Paralympics was a turnaround for India. Devendra Jhajharia won his second Paralympics gold in the Javelin Throw F46 category. Mariyappan Thangavelu clinched gold in the High Jump F42 category. Deepa Malik won silver in the Shot Put and Varun Singh Bhati clinched bronze in the High Jump F42 category.
Best-ever Performance at Tokyo 2020
India took home 19 medals – five gold, eight silver, and six bronze at the 2020 Paralympics. Overall India finished 24th among 86 countries.
The gold medals were won by Avani Lekhara in 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1, Pramod Bhagat in Singles SL3 Badminton, Krishna Nagar in Singles SH6 Badminton, Sumit Antil in Javelin throw F64 and Manish Narwal in Mixed 50m Pistol SH1.
2024 Paris Paralympics
India has sent a strong contingent of 84 athletes at the Paris Paralympics. Devendra Jhajharia, President of the Paralympic Committee of India, has said that India will be aiming to win more than 25 medals this year.
