GUWAHATI: India is set to make history at the Paris 2024 Paralympics by sending its largest-ever contingent of 84 athletes to compete across 12 sports. This marks a significant increase from the 54 athletes who represented the nation at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.
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For the first time, India will participate in para cycling, para rowing, and blind judo at the Games.
At a send-off event held on Friday, August 16, Sumit Antil and Bhagyashri Jadhav were announced as the joint flag-bearers for the Opening Ceremony, scheduled for August 28.
Sumit Antil, a 25-year-old javelin thrower, is the reigning Paralympic champion in the men’s F64 category, having secured gold at the Tokyo 2020 Games.
He is also a two-time world champion and holds the world record in his category.
Sumit first set the world record at the 2023 World Championships with a throw of 70.83 metres, and later surpassed his own record at the Asian Para Games in Hangzhou with a mark of 73.29 metres, clinching another gold medal.
Bhagyashri Jadhav, 39, earned a silver medal in the women’s shot put F34 category at the Asian Para Games. She also competed in Tokyo 2020, reaching the final and finishing seventh. Earlier this year, she won another silver medal in women’s F34 shot put at the World Para Athletics Championships in May.
The Paris 2024 Paralympics will commence on August 28 and conclude on September 8.