Amid the dreaded pandemic, India has finally something to cheer about, especially in the sports arena. The Indian participants in the Paralympics have outperformed their normal category counterparts by winning 19 medals at the Tokyo Games. Their previous best was in 1984 and 2016 when they won four medals. So, in Tokyo India have taken a giant leap forward. This time the country has also got 5 gold medals, the best in terms of yellow metal in Paralympics. Hence, let us meet some of the ‘golden’ players who have made us proud as Indians with their exploits at the Paralympics.
Indian Gold Winners At The Paralympics 2020
Sumit Antil (Athletics/ Javelin Throw)
The lad from Haryana created history when he threw 68.55 metres in the Paralympic final on August 30, the feat ensured him a Gold in the Javelin Throw category. For Antil the lightning struck at the age of 17 when he lost his left leg below the knee to a motorcycle mishap. In 2017, he began his journey under Nitin Jaiswal and took part in various national and international competitions. His best phase started in 2019 when he broke a world record in the F64 category to secure silver at World Para Athletics Grand Prix in Italy.
Pramod Bhagat (Badminton)
The ace shuttler, who won Gold in Men’s Singles event (SL3), comes from the Vaishali district of Bihar. At the age of five, he developed a defect on his left leg from which he could never recover. However, he liked Badminton a lot and after watching a live match at the age of 13 Bhagat realized that his calling lays in this sport. Then he started working hard on his fitness, footwork etc to ace the game. Bhagat’s sporting career got a huge fillip in 2013 and he did not take a step back since as he took part in several national as well as international events. His sporting highs came in 2015 and 2019 when he won the World Badminton Championships.
Krishna Nagar (Badminton)
This Paralympic 2020 Gold medalist in Badminton hails from Rajasthan and had previously won two Gold medals at Para-Badminton International in Dubai earlier this year. He was crippled by dwarfism at the age of 2 but never lost hope in life. As a hobby Nagar took to Badminton in 2017 and quickly picked up the small nuances of the game to enter the professional arena. This ace shuttler from Rajasthan is currently ranked number 2 in the world. In 2018, Nagar won the Bronze in Asian Para Games and in 2019 he got another Bronze at the Para-Badminton World Championships.
Manish Narwal (Shooting)
This happens to be another Haryana boy to have made the Indians proud by winning Paralympics Gold in the shooting category. With a congenital impairment to his right hand, Narwal cannot even lift the same to receive the medal. However, his left hand more than compensated for the impairment as, apart from the present honour, he has several accomplishments to his credit in previous outings as well. Narwal had previously won Gold at the 2017 Bangkok World Cup and two more medals at the Al Ain Shooting World Cup in the same year. The year 2018 was special for him as he secured India’s sole Gold medal at the Asian Para Games in the Indonesian capital.
Avani Lekhara (Shooting)
The ace shooter from Rajasthan achieved the rare distinction of being only the second Indian to win multiple medals at Paralympics after Joginder Singh Sodhi, who won three at the 1984 games. Immediately after her ‘Golden’ performance in the Women’s 10m air rifle category, Lekhara also won Bronze in Women’s 50 m 3 positions SH-1 event. Post a car mishap that left her paralysed from the waist down, Lekhara became more determined and started to train with coach Chandra Shekhar at the Jagatpura Range in Jaipur. After making slow but steady progress at the beginning of her career, she flourished consistently in the last few years by scoring in the range of 1150-1170. After securing a silver medal in the 10 m air rifle event at the Al Ain World Cup, the ace shooter’s journey has only gone one way, skywards. The latest achievements are nothing but the proverbial icing on the cake as far as her illustrious career is concerned.
