The Indian para sports ecosystem has been growing exponentially over the years, having multiple world championship titles and Paralympic medals across various sports.
Historically, India has won 60 medals at the Paralympic Games, but 48 of those were won in just the last two editions, showcasing the country’s rise in this sport.
At the 2024 Paris Paralympics, India accounted for almost half (29) of its all-time Paralympic medals, securing a historic first top-20 finish on the medal table.
This rise in Indian para sports is not a one-off. The country has regularly been on an upward trend and has shown consistency across tournaments.
Historic Asian Para Games
India had a phenomenal outing at the 2023 Asian Para Games, surpassing three digits in medal count for the first time with a historic tally of 111 medals, finishing fifth overall.
This was a massive increase for India from the last edition, where they had 72 medals, implying the continuous progress across various para sports programmes in India.
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Multiple World Titles
Indian para athletes have also shown a great consistency over the years, having won multiple world titles, like Sumit Antil (Athletics) and Pramod Bhagat (Badminton).
Even in para archery, both the men’s and women’s compound individual world titles are currently held by Indians – Toman Kumar (men’s) and Sheetal Devi (women’s).
Alongside that, India had six world titles at the World Para Athletics C’ships last year and clinched two titles in the recently concluded 2026 BWF Para Badminton World C’ships.
Diversity in Sports
India’s success in para sports is not limited to just one or two disciplines, but it comes from varied sports like judo, table tennis, and taekwondo.
The nation won its first-ever Para Judo medal at the Paris Paralympics when Kapil Parmar clinched the bronze medal in the Men’s J1 60 kg category.
Similarly, Aruna Tanwar clinched a bronze medal at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Para Games and was also the first Indian para taekwondo player to qualify for the Paralympics.
This year, the mega Para event, Asian Para Games, is returning, and the Indian athletes will be hoping to continue this growth and touch another historic performance.
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