Indian para-athletes had a remarkable year in 2024 as they scripted numerous historic moments, winning several world titles in sports like para-badminton and para-athletics.
In addition, India achieved its best-ever medal tally at the Paris Paralympic Games 2024, winning an impressive 29 medals: 7 gold, 9 silver, and 13 bronze.
There were many remarkable stories this year in para-sports, from Sumit Antil’s title defense at the Paralympic Games to Harvinder Singh winning India’s first-ever archery gold at the Paralympics.
Here, TheBridge highlights the top performers of the year 2024 in Para-Sports:
Harvinder Singh – Para Archery
The star Indian recurve archer Harvinder Singh etched his name in the history books this year by becoming the first Indian archer to win a gold medal at the Paralympic Games.
He clinched the title in the men’s recurve open category at the Paris Paralympics, improving on his bronze-medal performance from the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021.
Harvinder had not been in his best form leading up to this year, with only one individual medal since his heroic performance in Tokyo. However, he showed his class and regained form at the best possible time.
He started the year on a high note, winning two individual bronze medals on the international circuit. Additionally, he secured a gold medal in the mixed team event at one of the ranking series events.
Nitesh Kumar – Para-Badminton
Nitesh Kumar was India’s sole gold medalist in para-badminton at the 2024 Paralympic Games.
He won the men’s singles SL3 category title after upsetting the favorite, Daniel Bethell of Great Britain, in the final.
This victory was particularly special for Nitesh as he broke his 0-9 head-to-head record against Bethell, securing his first win against the Brit in Paris.
Earlier this year, Nitesh fell short against Bethell in the World Championships semi-finals, where he settled for a bronze medal. His triumph at the Paralympics made it all the more meaningful.
Nitesh ended the year as the world’s number one player in his category, reaching the finals of all four world tour tournaments he participated in, winning two titles and finishing as runner-up twice.
Sumit Antil – Para-Athletics
Star Indian javelin thrower Sumit Antil proved his consistency once again by defending his Paralympic gold medal in the men’s javelin throw F64 category.
Sumit, known for aiming to break records every time he competed, did not disappoint. At the Paris Paralympics, he clinched gold with a new Paralympic record of 70.59m.
Earlier in the year, he also won gold at the World Championships in Kobe with a throw of 69.50m, completing a double triumph for 2024.
Avani Lekhara – Para-Shooting
Avani Lekhara, one of India’s finest para-shooters, reaffirmed her dominance with a gold medal at the Paris Paralympic Games in the women’s 10m air rifle SH1 category.
This was Avani’s second Paralympic gold in this category, as she successfully defended her 2021 Tokyo Games title in Paris.
Avani faced tough competition from her compatriot Mona Aggarwal in the final but maintained her composure to secure victory in the final moments.
She also reached the final of the 50m rifle 3 positions SH1 category, finishing fifth and narrowly missing out on a second medal.
Sachin Khilari – Para-Athletics
Shot-putter Sachin Khilari continued his consistent performance for India, earning his first Paralympic medal at the 2024 Games.
Sachin secured a silver medal in the men’s shot put F46 category with a new Asian record throw of 16.32m.
Although he led the competition after four throws, he narrowly missed out on gold by just 0.06m.
As the reigning world champion in his category, Sachin had earlier won gold at the Kobe World Championships with a throw of 16.30m, further solidifying his reputation as a top contender.
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