Less than a month ago, the Tokyo Olympics drew to a flourishing end with India having seen the best ever performance by her athletes with a total of seven medals and a highly anticipated gold. Yesterday, the Indian contingent created history, yet again, having clinched nineteen medals by the closing ceremony of the Tokyo Paralympics.
https://goachronicle.com/a-gold-in-making-history/
Very much alike the Olympics, the Paralympics this year created history even before the commencement with a total of 54 athletes competing in a myriad of disciplines. The Indian team also saw a record two former gold medallists participating in the Games with both Devendra Jhajharia and Mariyappan Thangavelu being back to defend their Rio 2016 titles. Tokyo 2020 was also witness to an unprecedented 10 para shooters qualifying for the Games, making it a record contingent within a record contingent. In yet another historic instance, Prachi Yadav qualified for canoe sprint as the first ever Indian while Sakina Khatun became India’s first female power lifter to set sail for the Games.
India’s historic medal haul opened with a flourish on the very first day when Bhavinaben Patel became India’s first ever paddler and only the second Indian woman to have won a para medal, having clinched an unforgettable silver in the women’s singles table tennis class 4. Later, Nishad Kumar soared to India’s second medal winning a silver in the men’s high jump T47 category and set an Asian record with a clean jump of 2.06 m.
In a moment to remember forever, Avani Lekhara shot for and became the first ever Indian woman to win a gold medal in Paralympics. Scoring a total of 249.6, which is equal to the standing world record, Avani finished at the podium in the women’s 10m air rifle SH1 event. In another memorable turn of events, Avani went a notch higher when she won the bronze medal in the 50 m rifle 3 position SH1 and simultaneously became the first Indian woman paralympian to win multiple medals and the second ever Indian to do so in the same edition of the Games.
Athlete Yogesh Kathuniya brought further jubilation into the country when he bagged a silver in the discus throw F56 event after registering his best shot of 44.38 m.
Interestingly, the event that gave India her first ever athletics’ gold medal in the Olympics also gave the country a record number of medals in the Paralympics. The first medal in javelin throw was clinched by veteran thrower and two times gold medallist Devendra Jhajharia, when he finished second in the F46 category with a brand new personal best of 64.35 m. Also in a first, Devendra shared the podium with compatriot Sundar Singh Gurjar, who chipped in with a bronze in the same event.
On the same day, in the F64 category, Sumit Antil created a world record in his first attempt with a stellar throw of 66.95 m. In his second attempt, he broke his own record spearing a total distance of 68.08 m! In a magnificent last throw, Sumit absolutely shattered the world record yet again, capping 68.55 m and went straight to the top of the podium!
Becoming the third Indian after Joginder Singh Bedi and Devendra Jhajharia to win multiple medals at the Paralympics, defending champion and former gold medallist Mariyappan Thangavelu finished second in the men’s high jump T42 event, clearing 1.86 m. In a feat of absolute delight, the podium was also shared by Sharad Kumar, who is also a Sports Authority of India coach, when he won the bronze medal in the said event with a jump of 1.83 m. Yet another silver medal was clinched in high jump when Praveen Kumar, who set an Asian record with a jump of 2.07 m, became the youngest medallist in the contingent by making it to the podium in the men’s T64 event, at the age of 18.
The season also saw India win her first ever medal in para archery when Harvinder Singh beat Kim Min Su of Korea in a thrilling shoot off for the men’s individual recurve bronze.
In the P4 Mixed 50m Pistol SH1, 19 year old Manish Narwal won India’s third gold medal at the Tokyo Paralympics in a stunning instance and smashed the reigning world record by scoring a total of 218.2. Manish was joined on the podium by Singhraj Adhana who sensationally won his second medal, a silver, in the same event. Singhraj, who had earlier left the entire country elated, having befittingly finished with a lion’s roar and winning the bronze medal in the P1 men’s 10m air pistol SH1 event, joined the elite list of multi medallists in his very first Games.
But above all, the one sport that brought the country the most delight was badminton. As the national anthem reverberated throughout, the men’s singles SL3 event saw two Indians at the podium with reigning champion shuttler Pramod Bhagat claiming a historic fourth gold for the country and Manoj Sarkar joining him with a bronze. Later, on the ultimate day of the Games, Krishna Nagar brought in yet another gold medal in the SH6 event taking India’s gold tally to a fantastic 5. At the same time, District Magistrate of Noida Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj became an inspiration for many when he bravely went ahead to clinch a silver in the SL4 class of para badminton.
It's official Pramod Bhagat wins first ever GOLD for India in the first ever edition of #ParaBadminton at #Paralympics pic.twitter.com/J4zgwwMmu2
— DD Sports – National Games 2022 🇮🇳 (@ddsportschannel) September 4, 2021
India's Para Shuttler Krishna Nagar wins the #Badminton Men's Singles SH6 Event
He defeated #HKG Man Kai Chu 21-17, 16-21, 21-17 to win 5th Gold Medal 🥇 for India.
Well done Krishna Nagar you made India proud. Let's cheer for him and #Cheer4India #Praise4Para pic.twitter.com/UkluRDzUxg
— DD News Odia (ଓଡିଆ) (@DDOdiaNews) September 5, 2021
In what can rightfully be called India’s best ever season, the country saw her first ever Olympics medal in athletics and a gold at that! India saw her children shatter records across all events in both the Olympics and the Paralympics. And from 19 athletes in Rio 2016 to winning 19 medals in Tokyo 2020, she saw her entire past para medal tally of 12 being surpassed with quite a large margin in a single edition. But beyond all that, the nation saw her sky shine brighter than ever with so many stars dazzling high above in all their glory.
Being confined to a wheelchair did not stop Bhavinaben from scaling an unprecedented height in the Games. Loss of a leg did not limit Sumit’s run towards the epitome. Being deprived of a right arm did not stop Manish from shooting right! With 5 golds, 8 silvers and 6 bronzes, the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics not only gave the country her best ever Paralympics but also firmly established that for one’s dreams to take flight, the only wings needed are of indomitable will.
[author title=”Megha Satapathy” image=”http://goachronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/IMG_20210205_095950.jpg”]Journalist, Goa Chronicle
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