The Indian contingent at the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games 2024 was headed by shot putter Bhagyashri Jadhav and javelin thrower Sumit Antil. The ceremony, featuring an athletes’ procession that lasted four hours, started at the Champs-Elysees avenue and ended at the Place de la Concorde. Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, declared the games open.
The 179-strong Indian contingent, which is the largest ever in the nation’s Paralympic history, features 84 athletes in 12 different sports. Antil, who took home the gold in javelin at the Tokyo Paralympics, and Jadhav, who placed second in shot put at the Asian Para Games in China, had the honour of being the flag-bearer.
India hopes to add at least 25 medals to its collection with a double digit haul of gold. At the last Games, the nation won 19 medals, including five gold.
The squad includes a number of athletes, such as rifle shooter Avani Lekhara (10m Air Rifle Standing SH1), who made history in Tokyo by becoming the first female Paralympian gold medallist. Other podium contenders include para-archer Sheetal Devi, who shoots with her legs as she was born without arms, landmine blast survivors Hokato Sema (shot putter) and Narayana Konganapalle (rower).
Badminton duo Nitish-Thulasimathi’s winning start
In the inaugural badminton mixed doubles group stage match (SL3-SU5) at the Paralympic Games on Thursday, defending champions Suhas Yathiraj and Palak Kohli were defeated by India’s Nitesh Kumar and Thulasimathi Murugesan.
In 31 minutes, Nitesh-Thulasimathi team won 21-14, 21-17 in the Group A match. In the opening game, 29-year old Nitesh of Haryana’s Karnal district and Thulasimathi, a young veterinary science student from Tamil Nadu who had won the mixed bronze at the Asian Para Games in Hangzhou, faced little opposition and were up by seven points at one point.
In just 14 minutes, Suhas and Palak lost the game because they were unable to stop the duo’s deep tosses and net play.
Similar events occurred in the second game as well, with Palak throwing up points and unable to match her senior partner’s skill on the court.
(with inputs from PTI)
