Paralympics: India eye record haul with largest ever contingent in fray at Paris

India's largest para-athlete contingent eyes gold rush at Paris Paralympics with record-breaking performances and medal targets.

Battered by life but not beaten by its many challenges, an 84-strong contingent of Indian para-athletes, the largest ever in the country's history and a heady mix of youth and experience, would be eyeing an unparalleled gold rush when the Paralympic Games begin in Paris on Wednesday (August 28, 2024).

India won a record 19 medals, including five gold, in the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021 for a 24th-place finish in the overall rankings. Three years on, the country's target is more than 25 medals with a double-digit haul in gold.

What has fuelled this ambition is the size of the contingent and the exceptional performances in the past one year.

India won a record 111 medals, including 29 gold, at the Hangzhou Asian Para Games last year.

This was followed by unprecedented success at the World Para Athletics Championships in May where the country snared 17 medals, including half a dozen gold for a sixth-place finish in the overall standings.

Several medal winners in Hangzhou are in this Paralympics team, including top stars like world record-holding javelin thrower Sumit Antil (F64) and rifle shooter Avani Lekhara (10m Air Rifle Standing SH1). Both of them would be defending their gold medals won in Tokyo.

The Games, as much a celebration of sporting skills as human endurance, club athletes with similar functional abilities in terms of movement, coordination and balance into various classifications. The "degree and nature of their eligible impairments" decide these groups.