7 Top Medal Winner Indian Para-Athletes At Paris Paralympics 2024

Belonging to a poor farmer family from Ajit Nagar, Haryana, Harvinder Singh successfully clinched the first gold medal for India in Archery. This 33-year-old archer amazingly defended his 44-year-old opponent from Poland with clear knock-out shots. This was India’s second medal in archery at the Paris Paralympics in 2024.

In the final match, Harvinder showed a different level of precision with his arrows, and a clear shot of 10s created pressure on the opponent. After winning the final match, the emotions were clearly visible on the court itself, and other players like Sheetal Devi were celebrating in the stands with the Indian national flag in her hand.

In the Indian history of the Paralympics, Avani Lekhara becomes the first Indian woman to win two gold medals in the Paralympics. With the final score of 249.7 in women’s 10m air rifle shooting standing SH1, she created a new Paralympic record. It was the first time India had a double podium finish in the same event at the Paralympic Games with Mona Agarwal being in the third position with a score of 228.7.

She was born on 8 November 2001 in Jaipur, Rajasthan. She is one of the most inspiring athletes for Indian youths because of her resilience and determination, even after the life-altering road accident in 2012 which made her left side paralyzed.

Being an IIT Graduate, Nitesh Kumar has done great in his academics as well as his badminton career. He joined IIT Mandi in 2013, where he developed an interest in Badminton. In the train accident of 2009 Vishakapatnam, Nitesh lost his left leg but wasn’t able to break his confidence and perseverance to achieve something great in life.

Nitesh played amazingly against the opponent, D. Bethell (Tokyo Olympics Silver-Medalist) in the final match where he won two of the sets out of three. Also, his celebration has gone viral on social media platforms where he removed his t-shirt and covered himself with “Tiranga”.

He started his career in Badminton with disability in 2016, after which he won his first international title at the Irish Para-Badminton International in 2017. He has won several other tournaments as well. Currently, he serves as a Senior Badminton Coach for the Department of Sports and Youth Affairs in Haryana.

Sumit Antil won the second successive gold medal at the Paris Paralympics 2024 in the Javelin Throw event. He successfully achieved the first position as a gold medalist by achieving a distance of 70.59 metres in the Men’s Javelin Throw F64 final. This 26-year-old athlete is from Sonipat, Haryana. He lost his father at the age of seven, and at the age of 17, he met with an accident where his bike was hit by a speeding truck.

He has pursued a Bachelor of Commerce from Ramjas College of Delhi University. Multiple world records are made by him either at the World Para Athletics Grand Prix in Italy or the 2020 Summer Paralympics. On 2nd September 2024, he finally won a gold medal with a distance of 70.59m.

By already clinching a gold medal in the Tokyo Paralympics in mixed 50m pistol, Manish Narwal won a silver medal in the 10m air pistol SH1 event. In the final six shots, he lost his momentum and wasn’t able to score 10 apart once with a total score of 236.7. While his opponent Chao Yang of China claimed the top spot with an overall score of 240.3 in the finals.

Manish grew up in Ballabgarh in Faridabad, Haryana. Due to nerve damage to the right shoulder, he wasn’t able to move his right arm. His father Dilbagh Singh said, “From November 1, 2022, to today, Manish has remembered his brother every single day for these 668 days. It took Manish six months to pick up the gun again. Manish’s Paralympic medal is for Manjeet. Manjeet would be cheering from the heavens.” With this motivation to shoot, Manish’s younger brother Shiva is a Hangzhou Asian Games mixed team gold medalist, while sister Shikha has also followed on the same track.

Nishad Kumar is one of the most viral athletes from the Paris Paralympics in India because of the special appreciation he received from PM Modi. He performed exceptionally well in the finals of the men’s high jump T-47 event, where he successfully grabbed a silver medal. Despite having “unilateral impairment of the arms“, Nishad jumped around 2.04 metres. He also won a silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics with a jump of 2.06 metres.

PM Narendra Modi’s Tweet

At the age of six, his right hand was severely injured by a grass-cutting machine on his farm. After which, he later pursued his higher education at Himachal Pradesh University. He started the journey of sports in 2009 and won the bronze medal in the men’s T47 category at the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships. In the 2022 Asian Para Games, he won the gold medal in the T47 category of high jump.

Sheetal Devi is the most famous para-archer who was featured in Kaun Banega Crorepati and multiple national events. She is just 17 years old and secured the bronze medal in the Mixed Team Compound event of Archery along with Rakesh Kumar. She was born in 2007 with phocomelia, a rare congenital disorder that resulted in her arms not fully forming.

She had won three medals at the Asian Para Games in Hangzhou last year, including two gold medals and one silver. This remarkable performance left everyone with a huge trust in her talent and skills. The perseverance and spirit she has shown towards the game are really commendable. Famous businessman and entrepreneur of India, Anand Mahindra has promised her to choose a new car from any range, of any cost, and will customize it as per her need.

Anand Mahindra’s Tweet

Sheetal Devi’s Winning Moment