Page 2 - Paralympics

Harvinder, Preeti named flag-bearers for Paralympics closing ceremony

Gold medal-winning archer Harvinder Singh and sprinter Preeti Pal, who made history by becoming the first-ever Indian woman to win two medals at the Paralympics, will be the country's flag bearers during the closing ceremony of the Paris Games on Sunday. Harvinder, 33, who had also scripted history by becoming the first Indian archer to clinch a gold at the Paralympics to add to the bronze he won in Tokyo in 2021, said carrying the country's flag during the closing ceremony was the highest honour he could have dreamed of. "Winning gold for India has been a dream come true, and now leading our nation as a flag-bearer at the closing ceremony is the highest honour I could imagine. This victory is for everyone who believed in me, and I hope to inspire many more to pursue their dreams," said the Haryana-based Harvinder, who has impairment in both legs since he was a toddler. Preeti, 23, who clinched bronze medals in women's T35 100m and 200m competitions with personal best timings of 14.

Praveen Kumar clinches gold for India in men's high jump at Paralympics

Praveen not only improved his lifetime best but also broke the Asian record in the process.

Paralympics 2024: Simran through to semifinals in women's 200m T12 event

Indian track and field athlete Simran Sharma topped her heat and entered the semifinals of the women's 200m T12 event at the Paris Paralympics here on Friday. Simran, who is the reigning world champion, topped her heat with a timing of 25.41s to make the semi-finals. As per rule, the winner of each heat qualify to final A. The three fastest runners in each semifinal qualify to Final A. The T12 classification in the Paralympics is for athletes with visual impairments. Simran was born prematurely and spent the next 10 weeks in an incubator where it was discovered that she is visually impaired. Coached by her husband Gajendra Singh, who works for the Army Service Corps, she trains at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi. On Thursday, Simran missed out on a medal, finishing fourth in the Women's 100mT12 final. Simran clocked 12.31 seconds in the four-player final after being hampered by a slow start.

Kapil Parmar wins historic bronze medal in Judo for India at Paralympics

Kapil Parmar bagged India's first ever Paralympic medal in judo, clinching a bronze in the men's 60kg (J1) after convincingly defeating Brazil's Elielton de Oliveira in the final here on Thursday. Parmar produced a superlative performance, dominating his opponent from start to finish to record a 10-0 win in the bronze medal contest. He had earlier lost to S Banitaba Khorram Abadi in the semifinals, beaten 0-10 by his Iranian opponent here at the Champs-de-mart arena. The J1 class in para judo is for the athletes who suffer from no to very low visual activity. Athletes in this category wear red circles to indicate that they may need guided support before, during and after a contest. Parmar, who won the silver medal at the 2022 Asian Games in the same category, had earlier beaten Venezuela's Marco Dennis Blanco 10-0 in the quarterfinal. Parmar was, however, handed a yellow card in each of the two contests on Thursday. Yellow cards in judo are given for minor violations such as pass

Dharambir dedicates Paralympics gold to teammate and coach Amit Kumar

Paralympics gold medallist in men's club throw F51 event Dharambir has dedicated his medal to teammate and coach Amit Kumar Saroha, hoping that his feat inspires the next generation of para athletes to take the legacy forward. The 35-year-old Dharambir on Wednesday broke the Asian record with a throw of 34.92m en route to the gold medal at the Paralympics with Pranav Soorma clinching the silver with a throw of 34.59m. Saroha, however, failed to make it to the podium finishing last in the event. "I am feeling very proud. For any athlete, winning a medal at the Olympics (Paralympics) is a dream and my dream has come true with this. My guide Amit Kumar Saroha has played a big role in it," Dharambir said. "We came into the sport after getting to know about him (Amit Saroha), I hope the next generation (of athletes) will see us and get into this sport," he added. Dharambir, who has taken guidance from the 39-year-old Amit, dedicated the award to the veteran sportsperson. "I dedicate t

One arrow at a time: Making of Paralympic champion archer Harvinder Singh

Dealing with the unexpected, whether in archery or life in general, is no big deal for Harvinder Singh. He has aced the anticipation game thanks to the hard lessons that came his way. The 33-year-old from Haryana, who scripted history by becoming the first Indian archer to win a Paralympic gold, has impaired legs owing to a dengue treatment gone wrong when he was just one year old but instead of lamenting his fate, he chose to become bigger than his circumstances. Harvinder's journey to Paralympic glory began with a bronze three years back in Tokyo, which made him the first Indian to finish on the Games podium. On Wednesday, he showed neither fatigue nor nerves to secure five back-to-back wins in a day to bag his second successive Paralympic medal in recurve open category, bettering the previous performance by quite a margin. All his achievements are a first in Indian archery. And when he is not shooting down medals, Harvinder is busy pursuing a Ph.D in economics. "In the last few

Paris Paralympics 2024: How does the sport of wheelchair fencing work?

The wheelchair fencing competition at the Paralympic Games is in full swing, taking place under the prestigious glass dome of the Grand Palais in the heart of Paris. Here is what you need to know to follow the competition. What is wheelchair fencing? ================= Wheelchair fencing adapts traditional fencing for athletes with impairments affecting their motor function. Athletes compete in stationary wheelchairs fixed to the floor, relying solely on upper body strength, agility, and reflexes. The objective is to score hits or touches on the opponent, recorded by an electronic system due to the speed of the bouts. In singles competition, matches last three minutes or until one fencer scores 15 hits. In team events, three fencers from the same country compete one after another in singles bouts. The winning team is the first to reach 45 cumulative points or have the most points when time is up. The weapons and rules ================ Wheelchair fencing features three types of

Google Doodle celebrates Paralympics 2024 powerlifting with special artwork

Weightlifting was first added to the Olympics in 1964 while powerlifting was added 20 years later in 1984. This powerlifting was first included in 1984

Paralympics: Nitesh says he felt extra responsibility in Pramod's absence

India's gold medal winner in badminton men's singles Nitesh Kumar on Wednesday said Pramod Bhagat's absence from the Paris Paralympics gave him extra responsibility to win the title. Nitesh, who clinched the gold in men's singles SLC category, Thulasimathi Murugesan (silver), Suhas Yathiraj (silver), Manisha Ramadass (bronze) and Nithya Sre Sivan (bronze) were on Wednesday felicitated by the minister of youth affairs and sports Mansukh Mandaviya for their feat here at the SAI headquarters. Nitesh said his mantra was to take it one game at a time at the Paralympics after Bhagat was suspended for 18 months ahead of the Para Games. "I thought of taking one game at a time, going out there as world No 1, first seed, it was a responsibility for me to win the title, especially when Pramod was unable to participate in the Paralympics, he told PTI in an exclusive interaction. It was an extra responsibility for me to go out and win for India. Entering the final, I knew it would be intense an

Paralympics 2024: Bhavinaben Patel eliminated from women's singles TT Q/F

India's challenge in women's singles table tennis at the Paralympics ended here on Wednesday after Tokyo edition's silver-medallist Bhavinaben Patel lost to China's Ying Zhou 3-1 in the class 4 quarterfinal. Bhavinaben, who became India's first-ever medal winner in the sport with her silver in the Tokyo Paralympics, fought hard in the first two games and even won the third but eventually lost to her Chinese rival 12-14, 9-11, 11-8, 6-11. Earlier, the other women's singles player in class 3, Sonalben Patel lost to Croatia's Andela Muzinic Vincetic in the round of 16. In women's doubles, the Indian pair of Bhavinaben and Sonalben had missed out on securing a medal when they lost to the Korean combination of Young A Jung and Sunghye Moon in the quarterfinal stage. Bhavinaben was diagnosed with polio when she was one-year old. She competes in class 4 which is meant for wheel-chair athletes with functional arms and hands.

Paralympics 2024: Harvinder and Dharambir add to India's gold tally

Harvinder Singh became the first Indian archer to strike gold at the Paralympics before club thrower Dharambir also secured a top finish with a record-shattering throw as the country's athletes continued to surpass expectations on yet another rewarding day at the quadrennial showpiece here. World champion shot-putter Sachin Sarjerao Khilari and another club thrower Pranav Soorma's silver-winning performances were a major highlight too on a terrific Wednesday for India. Their performance took India's medal haul to 24 and the nation is currently placed 13th in the overall standings with five gold, nine silver and 10 bronze medals. It is India's best ever performance at the event and will only get better with three more days of competition left. The 33-year-old Harvinder, who became the first Indian to win an archery medal at the Games with a bronze three years ago in Tokyo, bettered the colour of his medal in a superlative performance of five consecutive wins. He defeated Poland's ..

Harvinder Singh becomes 1st Indian archer to win gold medal at Paralympics

Tokyo Games bronze-winner Harvinder Singh became the first Indian archer to win a gold medal at the Paralympics, beating Poland's Lukasz Ciszek in a lop-sided final here on Wednesday. The 33-year-old Indian, who lost to Kevin Mather of the USA in the Tokyo Paralympics semifinals before securing a bronze three years ago, put up a dominant show to knock out Ciszek 6-0 (28-24, 28-27, 29-25). Harvinder, who is pursuing Ph.D in Economics, won five back-to-back matches in a single day, showing neither fatigue nor nerves to etch his name in history and clinch India's second medal in archery here. Both his legs are impaired owing to the side effects of dengue treatment that he underwent as a toddler.

Harvinder advances to quarter-finals in quest for second Paralympics medal

Tokyo Games bronze medallist Harvinder Singh secured back-to-back wins to reach quarterfinals in his bid for a successive Paralympics medal in archery competition here on Wednesday. Harvinder, the only Paralympics medal-winning Indian archer, knocked out Tseng Lung-Hui of Chinese Taipei 7-3 before overcoming an opening set deficit to edge out Setiawan Setiawan of Indonesia 6-2 in the last-16 round. Harvinder lost the first set by just one point (27-28) after a poor 8-point start. But he was quick to regain composure and nailed three 28s in a row to put pressure on his Indonesian opponent. Setiawan managed 25 and 27 and in the fourth set he misfired his arrow to score 15 to concede the match. Earlier in his opening round, Harvinder drew the first set 25-25, before he shot one 10 and 9 to win the second 27-26 and take 3-1 lead. Lung-Hui dished out a near perfect third set when he dropped just one point to win it 29-26 and bring the scores level at 3-3. But Lung-Hui faltered in the

Paris Paralympics 2024: Google Doodle marks wheelchair tennis with artwork

Google celebrated the wheelchair tennis event on Tuesday with an engaging doodle featuring animated birds, as the Paris Paralympics 2024 continues to captivate sports fans worldwide

How many medals India won at Paralympics 2024? full list of medal winners

In the Paris Paralympics 2024, Indian para-athletes scripted history as they shattered the previous record of 19 medals, which was created in the Tokyo Paralympics

Future of Paralympics shines bright after French fans' immense support

It's the end of the second set of a women's sitting volleyball match between the United States and France, and the French fans are letting loose. They wave their tricolor flags in the flashing lights. Songs and cheers erupt from the packed stands at North Paris Arena. And yet, the French have just lost this set, 25-1. Win or lose, the French fans are turning out and supporting the more than 4,000 Paralympians competing in Paris, especially their own team. These Paralympics sold more than 2.3 million tickets as of Monday, the latest count, according to Paris 2024 organizers. That puts it at No. 2 all time in terms of ticket sales for a Paralympic Games, behind only London's 2.7 million in 2012, a moment generally regarded as a big victory in the disability sport community as it fights for visibility. We are surfing on the spirit of the Olympic Games, with crowds that embraced the spirit, and now we're having crowds embrace the Paralympic spirit, Etienne Thobois, director general of

Paralympics: Avani misses medal in women's 50m rifle 3P final, finishes 5th

Ace Indian shooter Avani Lekhara missed out on a second medal at the ongoing Paralympic Games and finished fifth after putting up a strong fight in the final of the women's 50m rifle 3 positions SH1 competition here on Tuesday. The 22-year-old Avani, paralysed waist-down owing to a car accident she suffered as an 11-year-old, shot a total of 420.6 across the three stages of kneeling, prone and standing in a world-class eight-woman field. She led the final briefly but slipped to sixth place at the end of the prone stage, which is not her strong area as it causes her problems owing to positioning. The Indian ace was doing well in the standing stage, her strong suit, but then an unexpected 8.3 did not help her cause. The SH1 class is designated for athletes with lower-limb impairment for competition in rifle shooting events. Here shooters are able hold their gun without difficulty and shoot from a standing or sitting position (in a wheelchair or chair). Earlier in the day, Avani ente

Paralympics 2024: Para-shuttler Suhas says he hoped for Gold medal in Paris

Indian para-shuttler Suhas Yathiraj is an emotional mess after his second successive Paralympic silver. A part of him is proud of the achievement but then he is also grappling with feelings of "sadness and disappointment" at missing out on gold. The 41-year-old went into the ongoing Games as world no.1 and was expected to fetch gold in men's singles SL4 category. However, he ended with a silver, going down in straight games to Lucas Mazur of France in the summit clash on Monday evening. "...coming here as world no.1 and as world champion, there was pressure and expectations on me. I too expected that I will do well here. Ideally I would have liked to win gold medal, which is every players dream," he said on Tuesday. "Winning the silver is a mixed feeling, there is sadness and disappointment of missing the gold. But when the feeling sinks in then you will realise qualifying for Paralympics and representing your country was a big thing. "And winning the silver is a proud moment and I

Paralympics 2024: Avani Lekhara enters 50m rifle 3 positions SH1 finals

India's ace shooter Avani Lekhara entered the final of the women's 50m rifle 3 positions SH1 competition after finishing the qualification in seventh place at the ongoing Paralympics here on Tuesday. The other Indian shooter in the field, Mona Agarwal, however, could not clear the qualification hurdle and ended in the 13th position. Avani shot a total of 1159 across the three stages of kneeling, prone and standing while Mona aggregated 1147. The top eight shooters from the qualification progress to the finals. This SH1 class is designated for athletes with lower limb impairment for competition in rifle shooting events. After kneeling and prone, Avani was holding on to the eighth position and Mona was 15th. Having started the standing stage with a disappointing 92, back-to back series of 96 lifted her into the seventh position, and a 97, in the last series, further brightened her prospects of reaching the final. The 22-year-old Avani, paralysed waist-down owing to a car accident t

Paralympics: Italy's first transgender sprinter fails to reach 400m final

Italian transgender athlete Valentina Petrillo failed to reach the final of the women's T12 400 meters for visually impaired runners after finishing third in her semifinal at the Paralympic Games here. The 50-year-old Petrillo ran a personal best 57.58 seconds in the second semifinal on Monday but finished behind Iran's Hajar Safarzadeh Ghahderijani and Venezuela's Alejandra Paola Perez Lopez, who both advanced to Tuesday's final. Petrillo earlier ran the fourth heat in the first round in 58.35 seconds, qualifying for the later semifinal. Petrillo was diagnosed with Stargardt disease when she was 14, a retinal disease that causes a progressive loss of vision. Petrillo stopped running as a result, though her dream to compete was sparked by Italian athlete Pietro Mennea's 200-meter gold-medal performance in the 1980 Olympics. Petrillo's appearance came weeks after Olympic boxing gold medalist Imane Khelif of Algeria faced intense scrutiny following false claims about her sex. Her sto