India at the Paralympics: Medal Winners, History & Highlights

India’s Paralympic journey is a testament to the resilience and talent of its para-athletes. Since their debut in 1968, Indian athletes have won 60 medals across 13 Summer Paralympic Games, including 16 golds, 21 silvers, and 23 bronzes, as per Olympics.com. The Paris 2024 Paralympics marked India’s most successful campaign, with 29 medals (7 gold, 9 silver, 13 bronze), surpassing the 19 medals from Tokyo 2020.

From Murlikant Petkar’s historic gold in 1972 to Avani Lekhara’s back-to-back golds, India’s para-athletes have brought glory through individual brilliance. This article provides a comprehensive list of all Indian Paralympic medal winners, key achievements, and trends in India’s performance, verified by sources like Wikipedia and ESPN.

Historical Context

India made its Paralympic debut at the 1968 Summer Paralympics but won its first medal in 1972 at Heidelberg, where Murlikant Petkar secured a gold in swimming. India missed the 1976 and 1980 Games but has competed in every Summer Paralympics since 1984. The nation has never participated in the Winter Paralympics.

Over the years, India’s medal tally has grown, with significant leaps in recent Games. The formation of the Paralympic Committee of India in 1994 has bolstered support for para-athletes, leading to increased participation and success, as noted by Wikipedia.

Total Medal Count

India has won 60 Paralympic medals: 16 golds, 21 silvers, and 23 bronzes. This total includes contributions from 12 editions, with Paris 2024 being the most successful, yielding 29 medals. Before Paris 2024, India had won 31 medals across earlier Games, as calculated from historical data. The breakdown is consistent across sources like Olympics.com and ESPN.

Medal Breakdown by Games

Full List of Indian Paralympic Medal Winners

Below is the complete list of India’s Paralympic medal winners, organized by Games, with details on the athlete, sport, event, and medal type. The list is verified against sources like Olympics.com and Jagran Josh.

Heidelberg 1972

• Murlikant Petkar: Gold, Swimming, Men’s 50m Freestyle 3. Petkar set a world record time of 37.33s, becoming India’s first Paralympic medallist.

Stoke Mandeville/New York 1984

• Bhimrao Kesarkar: Silver, Athletics, Men’s Javelin Throw L6. He threw 34.55m.

• Joginder Singh Bedi: Silver, Athletics, Men’s Shot Put L6 (10.08m); Bronze, Men’s Javelin Throw L6 (34.18m); Bronze, Men’s Discus Throw L6 (28.16m). Bedi was the first Indian to win multiple medals in a single Games like Arthur Bauchet.

Athens 2004

• Devendra Jhajharia: Gold, Athletics, Men’s Javelin Throw F44/46. His throw of 62.15m set a world record.

• Rajinder Singh Rahelu: Bronze, Powerlifting, Men’s 56kg. He lifted 157.5kg.

London 2012

• Girisha N Gowda: Silver, Athletics, Men’s High Jump F42. He cleared 1.74m, losing gold on countback.

Rio 2016

• Mariyappan Thangavelu: Gold, Athletics, Men’s High Jump F42 (1.89m).

• Devendra Jhajharia: Gold, Athletics, Men’s Javelin Throw F46 (63.97m), bettering his own world record.

• Deepa Malik: Silver, Athletics, Women’s Shot Put F53 (4.61m). She was the first Indian woman to win a Paralympic medal.

• Varun Singh Bhati: Bronze, Athletics, Men’s High Jump F42 (1.86m).

Tokyo 2020

• Avani Lekhara: Gold, Shooting, Women’s 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 (249.6, Paralympic record); Bronze, Women’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions SH1 (445.9). She was the first Indian woman to win multiple Paralympic medals.

• Sumit Antil: Gold, Athletics, Men’s Javelin Throw F64 (68.55m, world record).

• Manish Narwal: Gold, Shooting, Men’s 50m Pistol SH1 (218.2, Paralympic record).

• Pramod Bhagat: Gold, Badminton, Men’s Singles SL3 (21-14, 21-17 vs. Daniel Bethell).

• Krishna Nagar: Gold, Badminton, Men’s Singles SH6 (three-game win vs. Chu Man Kai).

• Bhavina Patel: Silver, Table Tennis, Women’s Singles Class 4. She lost to China’s Zhou Ying in the final.

• Nishad Kumar: Silver, Athletics, Men’s High Jump T47 (2.06m, Asian record).

• Devendra Jhajharia: Silver, Athletics, Men’s Javelin Throw F46 (64.35m, personal best).

• Yogesh Kathuniya: Silver, Athletics, Men’s Discus Throw F56 (44.58m).

• Mariyappan Thangavelu: Silver, Athletics, Men’s High Jump T42 (1.86m).

• Praveen Kumar: Silver, Athletics, Men’s High Jump T64 (2.07m, Asian record).

• Suhas Yathiraj: Silver, Badminton, Men’s Singles SL4 (lost to Lucas Mazur).

• Singhraj Adhana: Silver, Shooting, Men’s 50m Pistol SH1 (216.7); Bronze, Men’s 10m Air Pistol SH1 (216.8).

• Sundar Singh Gurjar: Bronze, Athletics, Men’s Javelin Throw F46 (64.01m).

• Sharad Kumar: Bronze, Athletics, Men’s High Jump T42 (1.83m).

• Harvinder Singh: Bronze, Archery, Men’s Individual Recurve Open (6-5 shoot-off vs. Kim Min Su).

• Manoj Sarkar: Bronze, Badminton, Men’s Singles SL3 (22-20, 21-13 vs. Daisuke Fujihara).

Paris 2024

• Avani Lekhara: Gold, Shooting, Women’s 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 (Paralympic record). She became the first Indian woman to win two golds.

• Sumit Antil: Gold, Athletics, Men’s Javelin Throw F64 (70.59m, Paralympic record). He was the first Indian man to defend a Paralympic title.

• Harvinder Singh: Gold, Archery, Men’s Individual Recurve Open (6-0 vs. Lukasz Ciszek). India’s first Paralympic archery gold.

• Dharambir: Gold, Athletics, Men’s Club Throw F51 (34.92m, Asian record).

• Praveen Kumar: Gold, Athletics, Men’s High Jump T64 (2.08m, Asian record).

• Navdeep Singh: Gold, Athletics, Men’s Javelin Throw F41 (47.32m, Paralympic record).

• Nitesh Kumar: Gold, Badminton, Men’s Singles SL3 (21-14, 18-21, 23-21 vs. Daniel Bethell).

• Manish Narwal: Silver, Shooting, Men’s 10m Air Pistol SH1 (234.9).

• Nishad Kumar: Silver, Athletics, Men’s High Jump T47 (2.04m).

• Yogesh Kathuniya: Silver, Athletics, Men’s Discus Throw F56 (42.22m).

• Thulasimathi Murugesan: Silver, Badminton, Women’s Singles SU5 (lost to Yang Qiuxia).

• Suhas Yathiraj: Silver, Badminton, Men’s Singles SL4 (lost to Lucas Mazur).

• Ajeet Singh: Silver, Athletics, Men’s Javelin Throw F46 (65.62m).

• Sachin Khilari: Silver, Athletics, Men’s Shot Put F46 (16.32m, Asian record).

• Pranav Soorma: Silver, Athletics, Men’s Club Throw F51 (34.59m).

• Sharad Kumar: Silver, Athletics, Men’s High Jump T63 (1.88m).

• Mona Agarwal: Bronze, Shooting, Women’s 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 (228.7).

• Preethi Pal: Bronze, Athletics, Women’s 100m T35 (14.21s, personal best); Bronze, Women’s 200m T35 (30.01s, personal best). She was the first Indian woman to win two athletics medals.

• Rubina Francis: Bronze, Shooting, Women’s 10m Air Pistol SH1 (211.1).

• Rakesh Kumar / Sheetal Devi: Bronze, Archery, Mixed Team Compound Open (156-155 vs. Italy). Sheetal, at 17, became India’s youngest Paralympic medallist.

• Nithya Sre Sivan: Bronze, Badminton, Women’s Singles SH6 (21-14, 21-6 vs. Rina Marlina).

• Deepthi Jeevanji: Bronze, Athletics, Women’s 400m T20 (55.82s). She was the first intellectually impaired Indian medallist.

• Sundar Singh Gurjar: Bronze, Athletics, Men’s Javelin Throw F46 (64.96m).

• Mariyappan Thangavelu: Bronze, Athletics, Men’s High Jump T63 (1.85m). He was the first Indian to medal in three consecutive Paralympics.

• Hokato Hotozhe Sema: Bronze, Athletics, Men’s Shot Put F57 (14.65m, personal best).

• Simran: Bronze, Athletics, Women’s 200m T12 (24.75s, personal best).

• Kapil Parmar: Bronze, Judo, Men’s -60kg J1 (10-0 vs. Elielton de Oliveira). India’s first Paralympic judo medal.

Key Achievements and Trends

India’s Paralympic performance has shown remarkable growth, particularly in the last two Games. Tokyo 2020 saw 19 medals, a significant jump from the 4 medals at Rio 2016. Paris 2024 further elevated India’s status, with 29 medals and a 18th-place finish in the overall medal table, as reported by India Today. Key trends include:

• Athletics Dominance: Athletics contributed 17 medals at Paris 2024, including 4 golds, driven by javelin throwers like Sumit Antil and Navdeep Singh. India’s first track medals came from Preethi Pal and Deepthi Jeevanji, as noted by India Today.

• Diversification of Sports: India won medals in five sports at Paris 2024 (athletics, shooting, badminton, archery, judo), compared to nine sports overall historically. New sports like para-cycling, para-rowing, and blind judo debuted in 2024, per Jagran Josh.

• Increased Participation: India sent 84 athletes to Paris 2024, including 32 women, up from 54 at Tokyo 2020, reflecting greater inclusivity and support, as per The Hindu.

• Record-Breaking Performances: Athletes like Sumit Antil (Paralympic record in javelin F64) and Avani Lekhara (Paralympic record in shooting) set new benchmarks. Navdeep Singh’s gold in javelin F41 was upgraded after a disqualification, per Wikipedia.

Notable Athletes

• Avani Lekhara: The first Indian woman to win two Paralympic golds (Tokyo 2020, Paris 2024) and multiple medals in a single Games (Tokyo 2020).

• Sumit Antil: The first Indian man to defend a Paralympic title, winning javelin F64 golds in 2020 and 2024 with record-breaking throws.

• Devendra Jhajharia: The only Indian with three Paralympic medals (two golds, one silver in javelin F46/F44).

• Mariyappan Thangavelu: The first Indian to medal in three consecutive Paralympics (gold in 2016, silver in 2020, bronze in 2024).

• Sheetal Devi: At 17, the youngest Indian Paralympic medallist, winning a bronze in archery at Paris 2024, as highlighted by Paralympic.org.

Challenges and Future Prospects

While India’s Paralympic success is inspiring, challenges remain, including limited grassroots infrastructure and accessibility for para-athletes, particularly in rural areas. However, the success of athletes like Deepthi Jeevanji, discovered at a school meet, shows the potential of talent identification programs, as per Business Standard.

Increased government support, awards like the Arjuna and Khel Ratna, and corporate backing, as noted by Paralympic Committee of India, are driving progress. India’s goal for future Games, like Los Angeles 2028, is to further diversify sports and increase medal counts, building on the momentum from Paris 2024.

Conclusion

India’s 60 Paralympic medals, culminating in the record-breaking 29 at Paris 2024, reflect the nation’s growing prowess in para-sports. From Murlikant Petkar’s pioneering gold in 1972 to the historic performances of Avani Lekhara, Sumit Antil, and Harvinder Singh, Indian para-athletes have overcome challenges to achieve global recognition.

Athletics remains the cornerstone of India’s success, with 17 medals in 2024, but emerging sports like badminton and archery signal a broadening horizon. The stories of resilience, such as Sheetal Devi competing without arms and Deepthi Jeevanji overcoming intellectual impairment, inspire millions.

As India prepares for future Paralympics, continued investment in training, infrastructure, and talent scouting will be key to sustaining this upward trajectory, ensuring more athletes bring glory to the nation.