Waves of happiness spread across all over India when Bhavinaben Patel bagged the silver medal in para table tennis, opening the account for India with her massive win. And this was just the beginning. Tokyo Paralympics 2020

After the incredible performance of Indian Olympians in the 2020 Summer Olympics, it was time for Indian Paralympians to steal the limelight. India was expecting as many as 15 medals in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. But the reality surpassed the expectation when India witnessed the record-breaking score of 19 medals on the overall tally, taking our National Flag high up to the 24th spot.

The sound of our Indian National Anthem became even more prominent when it was played for the 5th time in the Paralympic Games 2020, as we received five gold medals. Complimenting the gold, we got eight silver and six bronze medals too. This year, India had sent its largest-ever contingent of 54 magnificent athletes to Tokyo and they got us the biggest win ever. Our last highest was 4 medals. That’s the reason this victory is five times bigger than the last one.

We bagged 8 medals in athletics, 5 in shooting, 4 in badminton, 1 in archery, and 1 in table tennis. Let’s get familiar with our champions.

• Sumit Antil– Breaking the world record of 66.18m three times, he received the gold medal in Men’s Javelin Throw F64, India’s only gold medal in Athletics.
• Pramod Bhagat– He marked India’s name on the gold medal in the Men’s Singles SL3 sports class in Badminton.
• Krishna Nagar– Another Badminton champion who received the gold medal for India in Men’s Singles SH6 with his remarkable performance.
• Manish Narwal– This shooting star from India got himself the gold medal in P4 - Mixed 50m Pistol SH1.
• Avani Lekhara– She bagged two medals for India in the shooting. A gold medal in R2 - Women’s 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 and a bronze medal in R8 - Women’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions SH1.
• Singhraj Adhana– Another double winner from India in Shooting. He received a silver medal in P4 - Mixed 50m Pistol SH1 and bronze in P1 - Men’s 10m Air Pistol SH1.
• Yogesh Kathuniya– He received the silver medal in Men’s Discus Throw - F56 by giving a standing ovation performance from his wheelchair.
• Nishad Kumar– He won the silver medal in his first-ever Paralympics in Men’s High Jump - T47.
• Mariyappan Thangavelu– The Padma Shri and Khel Ratna awardee got the silver medal in Men’s High Jump - T63.
• Praveen Kumar– This youngest Indian Paralympian bagged the silver medal in Men’s High Jump - T64.
• Devendra Jhajharia– He became the first Indian to medal at three different Paralympic Games by winning the silver medal in Men’s Javelin Throw - F46.
• Suhas Yathiraj– Another silver came in Badminton with Suhas’s wonderful performance in Men’s Singles SL4.
• Bhavina Patel– Defeating the world’s top players, she won a silver medal in Women’s Singles - Class 4 in Table Tennis.
• Harvinder Singh– With his bronze medal in Men’s Individual Recurve Open, he became the first archer from India to win a medal at the Paralympics.
• Sharad Kumar– The former world no. 1 won a bronze medal in Men’s High Jump - T63.
• Manoj Sarkar– The current World no.1 Para-badminton player in the SL-3 Classification bagged a bronze medal in the 2020 Paralympics.
• Sundar Singh Gurjar– His performance was beautiful as his name; he received the bronze medal in Men’s Javelin Throw - F46.

Great competition, sporty spirit, and victories, Paralympics was a true celebration. As the Paralympics flame came to rest, Indian Paralympians made their way back home with record-breaking victories to celebrate.