For India, the Tokyo Paralympics 2020 will go down in history as the campaign catapulted Indian para-sports to new heights.
India has quadrupled its record tally of four gold medals from previous Games with five gold in Tokyo. It moved India up to 24th place in the medal table. Here’s a look at India’s five gold medalists at the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo.
-
Avani Lekhara:
In recent years, female competitors have been leading the way for India at the Olympic Games, and this trend continued at the Paralympics. After Bhavana Patel’s historic silver in table tennis, Avani Lekhara earned India’s first gold medal at the Games.
The fact that the gold came in shooting, where India had hoped to win several medals at the Olympics but had been disappointed, added to the significance of the victory.
The first Indian woman to win a Paralympic gold medal, repeated Bindra’s historic Beijing 2008 moment by winning India’s first-ever Paralympic award in shooting in 2021.
-
Sumit Antil:
Sumit Antil gave the most impressive performance by an Indian at the Tokyo Paralympics. He not only won gold in the men’s javelin throw F64, but he also dominated the event.
One of the finest performances was performed by an Indian athlete on the world stage, breaking the world record three times during the final.
In his first attempt, he set a new personal best of 66.95m, far surpassing his previous best of 62.88m. On his second attempt, he broke the record with a considerable effort of 68.08m as he took the lead from the start.
His subsequent two efforts were 65.27m and 66.71m, both of which would have surpassed the world record he established in Dubai at the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships. But the Indian kept the best for last, throwing 68.55 metres to set a new world record.
After being introduced to para-sports, he discovered a new passion and pursued it like no one else. He earned gold when it meant most, at the Paralympics in Tokyo, after a string of silver medals. And he has promised that there would be more.
-
Manish Narwal :
Manish Narwal of India entered the Tokyo Paralympics as the world record holder in P4 Mixed 50m Pistol SH1 and departed with a gold medal and a Paralympic record.
The 19-year-old Narwal got his act together after a poor start and an early elimination scare. He missed the podium in 10m air pistol SH1 after qualifying first. Still, he went on to win his first medal in 50m pistols, shooting a new Paralympic record of 218.2 in a dramatic performance alongside veteran Singhraj Adhana for a famous India 1-2.
He began shooting as a sport when he was 15 years old, and at the age of 16, he was ranked 13th in the world and has been a consistent top performer since 2017. His brief career peaked in Tokyo, yet he could still be just getting started.
-
Pramod Bhagat:
Bhagat reversed the tables at the Paralympics after losing to a British participant in the test event in Tokyo in 2020. The top-seeded Indian, an Asian champion, showed incredible mental toughness to beat second-seeded Bethell 21-14, 21-17 in a thrilling 45-minute final at the Yoyogi National Stadium.
At the 2014 Para Asian Games, Bhagat earned a bronze medal. He also won gold medals in both the team and individual events at the 2019 World Para-Badminton Championships.
He won the biggest prize of them all in Tokyo, 19 years after picking up a badminton racquet for the first time. He only lost one game along the way, and it is richly deserved.
-
Krishna Nagar:
Krishna Nagar is a neighbourhood in Delhi, India (Badminton). Krishna Nagar of India won gold in the men’s singles SH6 (short stature) category. He did so in dominant fashion, as he, like Bhagat, went undefeated throughout the group and knockout.
Nagar, 22 years old, defeated Chu Man Kai of Hong Kong 21-17 16-21 21-17. Nagar, the second seed, had not played Chu Man Kai in two years and had a 2-1 head-to-head record in singles matches on tour. It was a tense battle as the two sparred tooth and nail, but the Indian held his composure to win.
