From 1 to 22: The rise of Paralympians
India won its 20th medal at the Paris Paralympics, surpassing Tokyo’s 19 — medal mark. On Wednesday, Sachin Sarjerao Khilari – silver in men’s shot put F46 event — and Harvinder Singh — gold in men’s individual recurve open — added two more medals to push India’s count to 22.
Considering that there was only one medal in London 2012 and just four in Rio 2016, the progress is staggering. Naturally, the rise in medals has coincided with the increase in the number of Indian athletes qualifying for the Paralympics.
In another positive development, women athletes have outperformed men on many occasions. In Tokyo, all four badminton medals were won by men (Pramod Bhagat, Krishna Nagar, Suhas Yathiraj and Manoj Sarkar). In Paris, however, three women – Thulasimathi Murugesan, Nithya Sre Sivan and Manisha Ramadass – have made it to the podium, while only two men won the medals.
Also Read: India achieves highest-ever medal tally, surpasses Tokyo haul
Ramadass, 19, couldn’t hold back her tears when she won bronze to become India’s first female badminton medallist. “When I lost the semi-final, I cried a lot. I cried the next morning as well. But then I told myself that I started playing badminton at the age 11 only for this opportunity. I can’t let this go. And after I won, I called my parents to say that now they will be proud of the fact that they let me play sport against all societal taboos,” she said.
Interestingly, India had its first female medallist in 2016 in Deepa Malik and now 9 women have won medals in Paris.
