Paris Paralympics 2024: India Break Own Record Of Most Medals From Single Edition, Late Night Medal Rush Lifts Nation
It was yet another productive day for India in the ongoing Paris Paralympics 2024 as India have already recorded their best-ever medal haul of 20 from a single edition of the Games. Indian para-athletes won silver and bronze in both men’s high jump T63 and javelin throw F46 after Deepthi Jeevanji’s bronze in the women’s 400m T20 category late on Tuesday (September 3) night.
Before Paris Paralympics, India’s best-ever medal haul came at the Tokyo Paralympics 2021 when they came home with 19 medals three years back. India will home to add a few more medals before the Paralympics games comes to an end on Sunday (September 8).
Sharad Kumar and Mariyappan Thangavelu won silver and bronze respectively in the men’s high jump T63 while Ajeet Singh and Sundar Singh Gurjar took the second and third sports in the javelin throw F46 final. The 32-year-old Kumar cleared 1.88m while the 29-year-old Thangavelu’s best effort was 1.85m. World record holder Frech Ezra of the USA won the gold.
Check India’s medal tally at the Paris Paralympics 2024 after Tuesday night here…
With 2⃣ brilliant double podium finishes and Deepthi Jeevanji’s #Bronze, India now stands tall at 19th position with a total of 20 medals, the best-ever finish in any #Paralympics till date.@Media_SAI @IndiaSports #Paralympics2024 pic.twitter.com/0pDK8r6lEa
— DD News (@DDNewslive) September 4, 2024
T63 classification is for athletes with single through knee or above knee limb deficiency. Both Kumar and Thangavelu were T42 athletes who have single above-the-knee amputations or a disability that is comparable. T63 classification is for athletes with single through knee or above knee limb deficiency competing with a prosthesis.
In fact, Sharad’s 1.88m effort is a Paralympic record in T42, bettering the earlier 1.86m set by Thangavelu. In the Tokyo Paralympics three years ago, Sharad Kumar had won bronze while reigning world champion Thangavelu had clinched a silver. It was a sort or reversal here on Tuesday.
Ajeet upstaged world record holder Gurjar (64.96m) with a fifth-round throw of 65.62m. Guillermo Gonzalez Varona of Cuba won gold with 66.16m. It was Gurjar’s second consecutive bronze in the Paralympics as he had bagged the medal of same colour in Tokyo also three years ago.
Earlier in the day, India’s world champion Deepthi came up short of her best timing as she won a bronze medal in the women’s 400m T20 category final race. Deepthi, who turns 21 later this month, clocked 55.82 seconds to finish behind Yuliia Shuliar (55.16 seconds) of Ukraine and world record holder Aysel Onder (55.23) of Turkey.
Deepthi had come into Paris Paralympics as a strong contender for the gold after a top-place finish at the World Para-Athletics Championships in May in Japan where she had clocked the-then world record of 55.07 seconds.
