Paralympics and India: 2021
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Contents |
2021
The medal winners
Murlikant Petkar (Gold) 1972 Heidelberg Paralympics
Petkar clinched the gold in the men's 50m freestyle swimming event, clocking a world record time of 37.33 seconds. Originally a boxer in the Indian Army, Patekar switched to swimming and other sports after losing his arm in the 1965 Indo-Pak war. He was India's first-ever individual gold medallist at the Paralympics.
Joginder Singh Bedi (1 Silver, 2 Bronze)
1984, New York (US), Stoke Mandeville (UK) Paralympics
Bedi won the silver medal in the shot put event while bagging a bronze each in discus and javelin throw events. He holds the record of being the Indian with the most Paralympic medals.
Bhimrao Kesarkar (Silver)
1984, New York (US), Stoke Mandeville (UK) Paralympics
Kesarkar clinched the silver medal in the men's javelin throw event. He finished ahead of compatriot Joginder Singh Bedi, who claimed the bronze medal in the same event.
Devendra Jhajharia (Gold) 2004, Athens Paralympics
Jhajharia ended India's 20 year wait for a Paralympic medal by clinching the gold in the men's javelin throw at the Athens Games. With his throw of 62.15m in Athens, Jhajharia set a new world mark, a record that he would rewrite 12 years later.
Rajinder Singh Rahelu (Bronze) 2004, Athens Paralympics
The second Indian medallist at the Athens Games, Rahelu, competed in the 56kg men's powerlifting event. He bagged the bronze with an effort of 157.5kg. Born in Mehsampur village, Jalandhar district, Punjab, Rahelu contracted polio when he was eight months old.
Girisha Nagarajegowda (Silver) 2012, London Paralympics
The lone Indian medallist in the London edition of the Games, Nagarajegowda grabbed the silver in the men's high jump with a jump of 1.74 m. Nagarajegowda, who has an impairment in his left leg, became the first Indian to win a medal in a high-jump event.
Devendra Jhajharia (Gold)
2016, Rio Paralympics
Jhajharia etched his name in history books when he sent the spear to a distance of 63.97 metres in the men's javelin throw event in Rio, becoming the first Indian to clinch two gold medals at the Paralympics. Jhajharia also bettered his world record that he had set 12 years earlier at the Athens Games.
Mariyappan Thangavelu (Gold) 2016, Rio Paralympics
Thangavelu bagged the gold in the high-jump event at the Rio Games by clearing 1.89m. He is one of only three gold medal-winning Paralympians in the country. At the age of 5, Thangavelu suffered a permanent disability when a bus crushed his right leg below the knee.
Deepa Malik (Silver) 2016, Rio Paralympics
Malik became the first woman from India to win a Paralympic medal when she won the silver in the shot put event in Rio with a best throw of 4.61m. A paraplegic, Malik was consigned to the wheelchair after being operated for a spinal tumour.
Varun Singh Bhati (Bronze) 2016, Rio Paralympics
Bhati clinched the bronze medal in high jump, accompanying compatriot Mariyappan Thangavelu, who won the gold, on the podium. Afflicted by poliomyelitis at a young age, Bhati had produced a personal best mark of 1.86 metres.
Highlights
29 Aug, Bhavina wins silver
Sabu Cherian, August 30, 2021: The Times of India
Bhavina wins silver, to focus on doubles now
Her fans back home waited with bated breath for a gold medal in table tennis at the Paralympics on Sunday. But, it was not Bhavina Patel’s day. Though the 34-year-old gave her all in the summit clash, she went down in straight sets to world No.1 Zhou Ying of China in the final, ending her singles campaign with a deserved silver medal.
Zhou won 7-11, 5-11, 6-11. She had also won gold in 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Paralympics. Zhou had also defeated Bhavina in their group stage match.
Bhavina, however, became only the second Indian female athlete to win a medal in the Paralympics after Deepa Malik, who bagged silver in shot put F43 in 2016.
Speaking to TOI from Tokyo after winning the silver, the para paddler said, “I gave 100% in the final. Though I could not win the gold, I am satisfied with my overall performance. That I have created history by winning a medal in table tennis at the Paralympics is in itself a huge achievement.”
About her opponent in the final, Bhavina said, “She had strong wheelchair movements, better ball control and was hitting the ball very well. Playing her was a good experience. I will prepare for future matches keeping this in mind,” she added.
The doubles event begins on August 31 and Bhavina will be partnering Sonal Patel, who lost in the group stage in the singles. “We will give our best and try to win another medal for India,” said Bhavina.
The Vadnagar-born athlete, who is now a resident of Ahmedabad, was determined to change the narrative in the final and she matched Zhou stroke for stroke from the word go. But Zhou, a seasoned campaigner on the big stage, broke away at 3-3 in the opening game and maintained the lead to pocket the first game and never relaxed her grip for the rest of the match. Sensing her opponent’s big match pressure, Zhou went for the kill, mixing her shots and exploiting the angles well. Bhavina’s coach Lallan Doshi noticed this.
Nishad Para wins silver
Biswajyoti Brahma, August 30, 2021: The Times of India
Asian record high jump wins Nishad Para silver
Indian athletes excelled at the Tokyo Paralympics with Nishad Kumar winning the high jump (T47) silver while Vinod Kumar finished third in men’s discus (F52) but was made to wait for his bronze confirmation following a protest, reports Biswajyoti Brahma.
Bhavinaben Patel settled for silver after losing 0-3 to world No. 1 Ying Zhou in the women’s singles class 4 TT final. It was a great day for Nishad, 21, son of a marginal farmer, who clinched silver with an Asian record of 2.06m.
30 August
Biswajyoti Brahma, August 31, 2021: The Times of India
From: August 31, 2021: The Times of India
See graphic:
India at the Tokyo Paralympics on Aug 30, 2021
It was a day of rare and delightful sporting highs for India at the Paralympic Games as the country won an unprecedented 5 medals - 2 gold, 2 silver and a bronze - in a single day in Tokyo. The winners also included the country’s first-ever Paralympic goldmedal winning woman athlete in shooter Avani Lekhara.
The day’s developments took India’s total medal tally to 7, their best ever at a Paralympic Games, raising hopes of ushering in a revolution for differently-abled athletes in a country where even ramps for the disabled are a rarity in public places.
At the Rio Games in 2016, India had won 2 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze, but increased government funding and a special focus on para athletes has paid off in spades this time around.
“I can’t describe this feeling. I am on top of the world,” said Avini, speaking for all of the medal winners. Avani started the day for India with a gold and javelin thrower Sumit Antil ended it with another, along with a world record.
India’s tally could have been higher but they lost a bronze after athlete Vinod Kumar, who had finished third in discus (F52) on Sunday, was found ineligible in disability classification assessment.
Avani equalled the world record while winning the gold in women’s 10m air rifle standing SH1, while Antil bagged the top finish in men’s javelin (F64), beating his own world record by almost 6 metres.
Yogesh Kathuniya won one of the two silvers in men’s discus (F56) while the other was won by the indefatigable Devendra Jhajharia in men’s javelin (F46) event. In the same javelin event, Sundar Singh Gurjar claimed bronze. The 19-year-old Avani, who suffered spinal cord injuries following a car crash in 2012, showed what it takes for a shooter to finish on the podium at the Games by winning the gold quite convincingly.
After qualifying for the final as the 7th of the 8 shooters, she raised her game when it mattered most. She took the lead after the first round of five shots in the final and, barring for one round, maintained it. She finished with 249.6 points, ahead of Cuiping Zhang of China (248.9). Ukraine’s Iryna Shchetnik took the bronze. “I am very happy. I was just trying to focus on the process and was thinking just one shot at time. Everything went like I wanted,” Avani said.
Sumit started with a world record – 66.9m – before bettering it twice in the next four throws. His first one was followed by efforts of 68.08m, 65.27m, 66.71m and 68.55m, leaving no chance to his rivals. The earlier record – 62.88m – was also in his name which he had set in Dubai in 2019. Sadeep, another Indian in the fray, finished fourth with a best of 62.20. “This is my first Paralympics and I was a little nervous. I was hoping for a 70-metre-plus throw, maybe I can do 75m. It was not my best, but I am very happy to break the world record,” Sumit said.
Kathuniya had three fouls in his six attempts, but his last throw was 44.38m and it was good enough to push him to second position, behind Claudiney Batista of Brazil, who had 45.59, also in his last throw. An elated Yogesh, a post graduate, later said that he was hoping his medal will help him get a job. “I hope I can get a job now. That will be very nice,” the 24-year-old Kathuniya told TOI.
Jhajharia followed his Rio gold with a silver, with a personal best of 64.35m. But the effort was not enough to earn him his third Paralympics gold.
(With inputs from PTI)
31 August
From: Sep 1, 2021: The Times of India
See graphic:
India at the Tokyo Paralympics on 31 Aug, 2021
