Bhagyashree Jadhav and Sumit Antil have been named India’s flagbearers for the Paris Paralympics 2024, leading the nation’s contingent of 84 athletes. This will also mark a special moment for India, as it will be the country’s largest-ever contingent of 84 athletes, a significant increase from the 54 who competed in Tokyo.
Who is Bhagyashree Jadhav?
Hailing from Mahrashtra, Bhagyashree Jadhav has been a consistent performer on the international stage. She won a silver medal in the shot put F34 category at the 2022 Asian Para Games and finished seventh at the Tokyo Paralympics. Jadhav’s journey in sports began in 2017, and she quickly made her mark with medals at various international events, including the Feja World Cup and World Para Athletics Games.
Who is Sumit Antil?
Javelin star para-athelete Sumit Antil is the reigning world record holder in the F64 category. He secured a gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics with a world record throw of 68.55 meters. Antil continued his dominance with another gold at the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships and set a new world record of 73.29 meters at the 2022 Asian Para Games.
This year, India will compete in three new sports: para cycling, para rowing, and blind judo, bringing the total to 12 sports. The Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) announced this expansion. Notably, the number of female participants has more than doubled from 14 in Tokyo to 32 in Paris. After winning 19 medals in Tokyo, India aims to surpass that achievement in Paris, continuing its upward trajectory on the global Paralympic stage.
India’s Paralympics contingent
ARCHERY
- Harvinder Singh – Men’s Individual Recurve Open, Mixed Team Recurve Open (Category – ST)
- Rakesh Kumar – Men’s Individual Compound Open, Mixed Team Compound Open (Category – W2)
- Shyam Sundar Swami – Men’s Individual Compound Open, Mixed Team Compound Open (Category – ST)
- Pooja – Women’s Individual Recurve Open, Mixed Team Recurve Open (Category – ST)
- Sarita – Women’s Individual Compound Open, Mixed Team Compound Open (Category – W2)
- Sheetal Devi – Women’s Individual Compound Open, Mixed Team Compound Open (Category – ST)
ATHLETICS
- Deepthi Jeevanji – Women’s 400m -T20
- Sumit Antil – Men’s Javelin Throw – F64
- Sandeep – Men’s Javelin Throw – F64
- Ajeet Singh – Men’s Javelin Throw – F46
- Sundar Singh Gurjar – Men’s Javelin Throw – F46
- Rinku – Men’s Javelin Throw – F46
- Navdeep – Men’s Javelin Throw – F41
- Yogesh Kathuniya – Men’s Discus Throw – F56
- Dharambir – Men’s Club Throw – F51
- Pranav Soorma – Men’s Club Throw – F51
- Amit Kumar – Men’s Club Throw – F51
- Nishad Kumar – Men’s High Jump – T47
- Ram Pal – Men’s High Jump – T47
- Mariyappan Thangavelu – Men’s High Jump – T63
- Shailesh Kumar – Men’s High Jump – T63
- Sharad Kumar – Men’s High Jump – T63
- Sachin Sarjerao Khilari – Men’s Shot Put – F46
- Mohd. Yasser – Men’s Shot Put – F46
- Rohit Kumar – Men’s Shot Put – F46
- Preethi Pal – Women’s 100m – T35, Women’s 200m – T35
- Bhagyashri Madhavrao Jadhav – Women’s Shot Put – F34
- Manu – Men’s Shot Put – F37
- Parveen Kumar – Men’s Javelin Throw – F57
- Ravi Rongali – Men’s Shot Put – F40
- Sandip Sanjay Gurjar- Men’s Javelin Throw-F64
- Arvind – Men’s Shot Put – F35
- Dipesh Kumar – Men’s Javelin Throw – F54
- Praveen Kumar – Men’s High Jump – T64
- Dilip Mahadu Gavit – Men’s 400m – T47
- Soman Rana – Men’s Shot Put – F57
- Hokato Hotozhe Sema- Men’s Shot Put – F57
- Sakshi Kasana- Women’s Discus Throw- F55
- Karamjyoti- Women’s Discus Throw- F55
- Rakshitha Raju- Women’s 1500 metres T11
- Amisha Rawat: Women’s Shot Put – F46
- Bhavanaben Ajabaji Chaudhary- Women’s javelin Throw – F46
- Simran- Women’s 100m T12, Women’s 200m T12
- Kanchan Lakhani – Women’s Discus Throw – F53
Badminton
- Manoj Sarkar- Men’s Singles SL3
- Nitesh Kumar- Men’s Singles SL3, Mixed Doubles SL3-SU5
- Krishna Nagar- Men’s Singles SH6
- Sivarajan Solaimalai- Men’s Singles SH6, Mixed Doubles SH6
- Suhas Yathiraj- Men’s Singles SL4, Mixed Doubles SL3-SU5
- Sukant Kadam- Men’s Singles S4
- Tarun- Men’s Singles S4
- Manasi Joshi- Women’s Singles SL3
- Mandeep Kaur- Women’s Singles SL3
- Palak Kohli- Women’s Singles SL4, Mixed Doubles SL3-SU5
- Manisha Ramadass- Women’s Singles SU5
- Thulasimathi Murugesan- Women’s Singles SU5, Mixed Doubles SL3-SU5
- Nithya Sre Sivan- Women’s Singles SH6, Mixed Doubles SH6
Canoe
- Prachi Yadav- Women’s Va’a Single 200m VL2
- Yash Kumar- Men’s Kayak Single 200m -KL1
- Pooja Ojha- Women’s Kayak Single 200m -KL1
Cycling
- Arshad Shaik- Road – Men’s C2 Ind. Time Trial, Road – Men’s C1-3 Road Race, Track – Men’s C1-3 1000m Time Trial, Track – Men’s C2 3000m Ind. Pursuit
- Jyoti Gaderiya- Road – Women’s C1-3 Ind. Time Trial, Road – Women’s C1-3 Road Race, Track – Women’s C1-3 500m Time Trial, Track – Women’s C1-3 3000m Ind. Pursuit
- Blind Judo (2)
- Kapil Parmar: Men’s -60kg J1
- Kokila: Women’s -48kg J2
Powerlifting
- Paramjeet Kumar- Men’s up to 49kg
- Ashok- Men’s up to 63kg
- Sakina Khatun- Women’s up to 45kg
- Kasthuri Rajamani- Women’s up to 67kg
Rowing
- Anita- PR3 Mix Dbl Sculls-PR3Mix2x
- Naryana Konganapalle- PR3 Mix Dbl Sculls-PR3Mix2x
Shooting
- Amir Ahmad Bhat- P3 – Mixed 25m Pistol SH1
- Avani Lekhara: R2 – Women’s 10m Air Rfl Std SH1, R3 – Mixed 10m Air Rfl Prn SH1, R8 – Women’s 50m Rifle 3 Pos. SH1
- Mona Agarwal: R2 – Women’s 10m Air Rfl Std SH1, R6 – Mixed 50m Rifle Prone SH1, R8 – Women’s 50m Rifle 3 Pos. SH1
- Nihal Singh: P3 – Mixed 25m Pistol SH1, P4 – Mixed 50m Pistol SH1
- Manish Narwal: P1 – Men’s 10m Air Pistol SH1
- Rudransh Khandelwal: P1 – Men’s 10m Air Pistol SH1, P4 – Mixed 50m Pistol SH1
- Sidhartha Babu: R3 – Mixed 10m Air Rfl Prn SH1, R6 – Mixed 50m Rifle Prone SH1
- Sriharsha Devaraddi Ramakrishna- R4 – Mixed 10m Air Rfl Std SH2, R5 – Mixed 10m Air Rfl Prn SH2
- Swaroop Mahavir Unhalkar- R1 – Men’s l0m Air Rifle St SH1
- Rubina Francis: P2 – Women’s 10m Air Pistol SH1
Swimming
Suyash Narayan Jadhav- Men’s 50m Butterfly – S7
Table Tennis
- Sonalben Patel- Women’s Singles- WS3, Women’s Doubles- WD10
- Bhavinaben Patel- Women’s Singles- WS4, Women’s Doubles- WD10
Taekwondo
Aruna- Women’s K44- 47kg