Paris Paralympics 2024: Indian athletes, dates, history, list of games and all you need to know

Paris Paralympics 2024 Indian athletes, dates, history, list of games and all you need to know

It has been over a week since the conclusion of the 2024 Paris Olympics, but there is still much to look forward to for sports enthusiasts. The 2024 Paris Paralympics are set to commence in the French capital on 28 August and will run until 8 September. This will be the first time France has hosted a Summer Paralympics, having previously staged the Winter Paralympics in Tignes and Albertville in 1992.

Unlike the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics, which took place without spectators due to the coronavirus pandemic, this year’s Games will welcome fans back to the stadiums. A total of 22 sporting events will be featured, with 4,400 athletes from around the world participating. India will be sending 84 athletes to Paris, marking the largest contingent the country has ever sent to a Paralympic Games.

Paris Paralympics 2024- Details

The Paris Paralympics will commence on 28 August with a groundbreaking opening ceremony. For the first time in Paralympic history, the opening ceremony will take place outside a stadium, following a similar approach to the Olympic opening ceremony. During the parade, athletes will traverse some of Paris's most iconic landmarks, from the Champs-Élysées to the Place de la Concorde.

Fans will have the opportunity to witness parts of the event before the official athletes' parade and other ceremonies, which will take place exclusively for ticket-holders at the Place de la Concorde.

The first day of competition is scheduled for 29 August, with 22 gold medals to be awarded on that day. The Games will wrap up on 8 September, featuring the final medal events in wheelchair basketball, para-canoe, para-powerlifting, and wheelchair marathons, along with the closing ceremony.

Paris Paralympics 2024- Host Venues

Many of the venues used during the Olympics will also be utilised for the Paralympics. Roland Garros will host wheelchair tennis, the gardens of the Château de Versailles will be the site for para-equestrian events, and the Stade de France will feature para-athletics.

Wheelchair fencing and para-taekwondo will take place at the Grand Palais, while a purpose-built stadium near the Eiffel Tower will host blind football matches.

Central Paris will serve as the venue for the para-triathlon, with the swimming segment of the competition taking place in the River Seine.

Paris Paralympics 2024- Featuring Games

Paris Paralympics 2024 will feature a total of 22 sports. They are:

Blind football

Para-archery

Para-athletics

Boccia

Goalball

Para-badminton

Para-canoe

Para-cycling

Para-equestrian

Para-judo

Para-powerlifting

Para-rowing

Para-taekwondo

Para-triathlon

Para-table tennis

Sitting volleyball

Wheelchair basketball

Wheelchair fencing

Wheelchair rugby

Wheelchair tennis

Para-swimming

Shooting Para-sport

Paris Paralympics 2024- Indian Athletes

A total of 84 Indian athletes will compete at the Paris Paralympics, marking the largest delegation India has ever sent to the event. This surpasses the 54 athletes who represented India at the Tokyo Paralympics.

Shooter Avani Lekhara and javelin thrower Sumit Antil will be among India’s key medal prospects in Paris. Avani won gold in the women’s R2 10m air rifle standing SH1 event in Tokyo, while Sumit claimed gold in the men’s F64 javelin throw three years ago.

India set a record at the Tokyo Paralympics, winning 19 medals in total, including five gold, eight silver, and six bronze. Devendra Jhajharia, President of the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI), is optimistic that the country will secure at least 25 medals this time.

Here is the list of Indian Athletes with their participation in the Games:

Para Archery (6)

Harvinder Singh - Men's Individual Recurve Open, Mixed Team Recurve Open (Category - ST)

Rakesh Kumar - Men's Individual Compound Open, Mixed Team Compound Open (Category - W2)

Shyam Sundar Swami - Men's Individual Compound Open, Mixed Team Compound Open (Category - ST)

Pooja - Women's Individual Recurve Open, Mixed Team Recurve Open (Category - ST)

Sarita - Women's Individual Compound Open, Mixed Team Compound Open (Category - W2)

Sheetal Devi - Women's Individual Compound Open, Mixed Team Compound Open (Category - ST)

Para Athletics (38)

Deepthi Jeevanji - Women's 400m -T20

Sumit Antil - Men's Javelin Throw - F64

Sandeep - Men's Javelin Throw - F64

Ajeet Singh - Men's Javelin Throw - F46

Sundar Singh Gurjar - Men's Javelin Throw - F46

Rinku - Men's Javelin Throw - F46

Navdeep - Men's Javelin Throw - F41

Yogesh Kathuniya - Men's Discus Throw - F56

Dharambir - Men's Club Throw - F51

Pranav Soorma - Men's Club Throw - F51

Amit Kumar - Men's Club Throw - F51

Nishad Kumar - Men's High Jump - T47

Ram Pal - Men's High Jump - T47

Mariyappan Thangavelu - Men's High Jump - T63

Shailesh Kumar - Men's High Jump - T63

Sharad Kumar - Men's High Jump - T63

Sachin Sarjerao Khilari - Men's Shot Put - F46

Mohd. Yasser - Men's Shot Put - F46

Rohit Kumar - Men's Shot Put - F46

Preethi Pal - Women's 100m - T35, Women's 200m - T35

Bhagyashri Madhavrao Jadhav - Women's Shot Put - F34

Manu - Men's Shot Put - F37

Parveen Kumar - Men's Javelin Throw - F57

Ravi Rongali - Men's Shot Put - F40

Sandip Sanjay Gurjar- Men's Javelin Throw-F64

Arvind - Men's Shot Put - F35

Dipesh Kumar - Men's Javelin Throw - F54

Praveen Kumar - Men's High Jump - T64

Dilip Mahadu Gavit - Men's 400m - T47

Soman Rana - Men's Shot Put - F57

Hokato Hotozhe Sema- Men's Shot Put - F57

Sakshi Kasana- Women's Discus Throw- F55

Karamjyoti- Women's Discus Throw- F55

Rakshitha Raju- Women's 1500 metres T11

Amisha Rawat: Women's Shot Put - F46

Bhavanaben Ajabaji Chaudhary- Women's javelin Throw - F46

Simran- Women's 100m T12, Women's 200m T12

Kanchan Lakhani - Women's Discus Throw - F53

Para Badminton (13)

Manoj Sarkar- Men's Singles SL3

Nitesh Kumar- Men's Singles SL3, Mixed Doubles SL3-SU5

Krishna Nagar- Men's Singles SH6

Sivarajan Solaimalai- Men's Singles SH6, Mixed Doubles SH6

Suhas Yathiraj- Men's Singles SL4, Mixed Doubles SL3-SU5

Sukant Kadam- Men's Singles S4

Tarun - Men's Singles S4

Manasi Joshi- Women's Singles SL3

Mandeep Kaur- Women's Singles SL3

Palak Kohli- Women's Singles SL4, Mixed Doubles SL3-SU5

Manisha Ramadass- Women's Singles SU5

Thulasimathi Murugesan- Women's Singles SU5, Mixed Doubles SL3-SU5

Nithya Sre Sivan- Women's Singles SH6, Mixed Doubles SH6

Para Canoe (3)

Prachi Yadav- Women's Va'a Single 200m VL2

Yash Kumar- Men's Kayak Single 200m -KL1

Pooja Ojha- Women's Kayak Single 200m -KL1

Para Cycling (2)

Arshad Shaik- Road - Men's C2 Ind. Time Trial, Road - Men's C1-3 Road Race, Track - Men's C1-3 1000m Time Trial, Track - Men's C2 3000m Ind. Pursuit

Jyoti Gaderiya- Road - Women's C1-3 Ind. Time Trial, Road - Women's C1-3 Road Race, Track - Women's C1-3 500m Time Trial, Track - Women's C1-3 3000m Ind. Pursuit

Blind Judo (2)

Kapil Parmar: Men's -60kg J1

Kokila: Women's -48kg J2

Para Powerlifting (4)

Paramjeet Kumar- Men's up to 49kg

Ashok- Men's up to 63kg

Sakina Khatun- Women's up to 45kg

Kasthuri Rajamani- Women's up to 67kg

Para Rowing (2)

Anita - PR3 Mix Dbl Sculls-PR3Mix2x

Naryana Konganapalle - PR3 Mix Dbl Sculls-PR3Mix2x

Para Shooting (10)

Amir Ahmad Bhat- P3 - Mixed 25m Pistol SH1

Avani Lekhara: R2 - Women's 10m Air Rfl Std SH1, R3 - Mixed 10m Air Rfl Prn SH1, R8 - Women's 50m Rifle 3 Pos. SH1

Mona Agarwal: R2 - Women's 10m Air Rfl Std SH1, R6 - Mixed 50m Rifle Prone SH1, R8 - Women's 50m Rifle 3 Pos. SH1

Nihal Singh: P3 - Mixed 25m Pistol SH1, P4 - Mixed 50m Pistol SH1

Manish Narwal: P1 - Men's 10m Air Pistol SH1

Rudransh Khandelwal: P1 - Men's 10m Air Pistol SH1, P4 - Mixed 50m Pistol SH1

Sidhartha Babu: R3 - Mixed 10m Air Rfl Prn SH1, R6 - Mixed 50m Rifle Prone SH1

Sriharsha Devaraddi Ramakrishna- R4 - Mixed 10m Air Rfl Std SH2, R5 - Mixed 10m Air Rfl Prn SH2

Swaroop Mahavir Unhalkar- R1 - Men's l0m Air Rifle St SH1

Rubina Francis: P2 - Women's 10m Air Pistol SH1

Para Swimming (1)

Suyash Narayan Jadhav- Men's 50m Butterfly - S7

Para Table Tennis (2)

Sonalben Patel- Women's Singles- WS3, Women's Doubles- WD10

Bhavinaben Patel- Women's Singles- WS4, Women's Doubles- WD10

Para Taekwondo (1)

Aruna- Women's K44- 47kg

Paris Paralympics 2024- Participating Countries

At the 2012 London Paralympics, 164 countries participated, and it is anticipated that the Paris Games will surpass this number. However, this will still fall short of the 207 countries that competed in the Paris Paralympics in 2024.

In the 1996 Atlanta Games, 104 nations took part, increasing to 123 in Sydney in 2000. The Rio Games saw participation from 159 countries.

The Tokyo Games in 2021 featured 162 countries, although some nations were unable to attend due to COVID-19 restrictions. Guyana, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, and Bhutan made their debuts at the Tokyo Games.

Paralympics- History

The first Paralympic Games took place in Rome, Italy, in 1960, though its origins trace back further. Sir Ludwig Guttmann, a British neurologist, was instrumental in developing the concept. Working with World War II veterans who had spinal injuries at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Aylesbury, he used sport as a form of rehabilitation for his patients.

Guttmann organised a competition between hospitals to coincide with the 1948 London Olympics, and the idea quickly gained traction. In the following decade, other spinal injury units across Britain began to adopt this approach.

The 1960 Rome Paralympics saw participation from 400 wheelchair athletes representing 23 countries, with 57 medal events held across eight sports in the Italian capital.

Paris Paralympics 2024- Live Streaming

According to a media release, 100 Sports Management Private Limited has secured the exclusive broadcast and live streaming rights for the Paris Paralympics in India.