India finishes Paralympics with historic tally: Meet the inspiring medallists

Rakesh Kumar / Sheetal Devi - Mixed team compound open (Athletics) – Bronze

Born without arms, Sheetal Devi captured the world's imagination with her 'armless' dexterity with the bow.

Raised in Kashmir, her confidence as a child was apparent and taken special notice of at an army youth event. Coaches Abhilasha Chaudhary and Kuldeep Wadhwan took charge of her training and soon discovered that climbing trees without the use of her arms had given Sheetal Devi inordinate core strength. Prosthetics didn't work for her, but she was able to hold a bow with her legs and use her upper body to release the arrow.

Devi, along with her teammate Rakesh Kumar, won the Bronze medal at the mixed team compound open event at the Paris Paralympics 2024.

Kumar, also from Jammu & Kashmir, suffered a debilitating spinal cord injury in adulthood, which left him confined to a wheelchair. He was depressed and so afraid of being a burden on his parents that he even thought of taking his own life—eventually, he kept himself busy with a mobile recharge shop in Jammu.

Here, coach Kuldeep Wadhwan spotted him, noticing that his upper body looked rather fit, and asked if he would consider archery. Now, Kumar has just added a Paralympic bronze to his staggering collection of world championship medals, including an Asian Para Games gold and two Asian Para Games silvers.

Part 1: The inspiring, incredible stories behind India's Paralympic medallists

Sumit Antil - Javelin throw F64 (Athletics) – Gold

Like many others from Haryana, Sonepat's Sumit Antil grew up wanting to be a wrestler. But a motorbike accident at 17 changed the course of his life when he found that his left leg would be amputated. He shifted his focus to academics, but a chance meeting with a para-athlete led him back into the world of sport, more determined than ever—this time, as a javelin thrower.

"People would make fun of me for wanting to play the sport—so much so that I had to craft my own javelin initially," he recounts.

But from the first national championship he entered, Antil has been breaking and setting new national records. At the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics, Antil set a new world record with three throws, 66.95 m, 68.08 m and 68.55 m.

In Paris this year, Antil defended the exclusive gold medal he won in Tokyo with a Paralympic record throw of 70.59 m.

Nithya Sre Sivan - Women's singles SH6 (Badminton) – Bronze

From Hosur in Tamil Nadu, cricket was Nithya Sre Srivan's favourite sport. However, watching her now-idol Lin Dan play badminton at the Rio Paralympics in 2016 inspired Srivan to start watching the shuttle sport; in the lockdown of 2020, she discovered para-badminton and overcame her challenges with her short stature.

She took home the bronze medal at the women's singles SH6 event in Paris, which sees standing athletes with vertical challenges compete.

Deepthi Jeevanji - Women's 400m T20 final – Bronze

Trolled and taunted for her appearance while growing up, Deepthi Jeevanji made history as the first intellectually impaired Indian athlete to win a Paralympic medal in Paris. The 20-year-old finished the 400 m T20-class race in 55.82 seconds, bagging herself a bronze medal.

The T20 class is reserved for athletes with intellectual impairments, and Jeevanji is India's first entry into this category.

Mariyappan Thangavelu - Men's high jump T6 final – Bronze

After taking home the gold medal in Rio 2016 and the silver at Tokyo 2020, a bronze completed Mariyappan Thangavelu's set at the Paris Paralympics 2024. He became the first Indian para-athlete to win medals at three consecutive Paralympics.

At the age of 5, Thangavelu suffered an accident that destroyed his right leg below his knee, leaving him unable to walk without aid. With the support of his mother as well as that of his coach, he fought his disability, channelling his determination into a passion for the high jump in para-athletics.

Sharad Kumar - Men's high jump T6 final – Silver

Also a para high-jumper, Sharad Kumar, suffered paralysis in his left leg at the age of 2 after a forged dose of polio medicine administered in his hometown. He took up high jumping in Class 7, breaking school records even competing against able-bodied athletes.

He made his international debut at the Asian Para Games in 2010 and won the bronze medal at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. In Paris, he upgraded to the silver medal.

Ajeet Singh Yadav - Men's javelin throw F46 event – Silver

Born in 1993 in Uttar Pradesh, Ajeet Singh Yadav was involved in a terrible train accident in 2017 and lost his left arm (below the elbow) while attempting to save a friend.

Yadav got into para-sports through his rehab and recovery phase a few months after the accident. He made his para javelin international debut in 2019 and won a silver medal at the Paris Paralympics.

Sundar Singh Gurjar - Men's javelin throw F46 event – Bronze

Much like Ajeet Singh Yadav, Sundar Singh Gurjar also lost his left hand in an accident. Hailing from Karauli, Rajasthan, he contemplated ending his life, but para sports gave him a renewed sense of purpose, according to news reports.

He won the bronze medal in the same category as Yadav, which features athletes with impairments in their arms.

Sachin Sarjerao Khilari - Men's shot put F46 – Silver

Born to a farmer's family in Sangli, Maharashtra, Sachin Khilari was left disabled in his left hand after falling from a bicycle during his school days. Apart from being a para-athlete, Sachin is a mechanical engineer and helps students prepare for state (MPSC) and national (UPSC) public service commission exams.

The 34-year-old Indian para-athlete secured the Paralympic shot put silver medal with an Asian record of 16.32m on his second attempt.

Harvinder Singh - Men's Individual Recurve Open (Archery) – Gold

When he was just one year old, a local doctor administered Harvinder Singh an injection for dengue—however, this left him unable to move his legs properly. Singh was drawn to para-archery after the 2012 Olympics and is now one of India's star athletes, winning a bronze at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics and a gold in Paris.

Dharambir - Men's Club Throw - F51 (Athletics) – Gold

An accident while diving in the village canal left Dharambir paralysed from the waist down after he crashed into the rocks underneath. He was introduced to para-sports in 2014 and began training in club throwing under Amit Kumar Saroha, a fellow para-athlete with a similar disability.
He bagged the gold medal with a staggering 34.92 m throw, setting an Asian record.

Pranav Soorma - Men's Club Throw - F51 (Athletics)- Silver

In 2011, Pranav Soorma suffered a spinal cord injury when a cement sheet fell on him, paralysing him from the waist below. He embraced para-sports while still in the hospital and found that it gave him a new purpose.

Soorma clinched the silver with a remarkable throw of 34.59m, marking a historic moment for Indian athletics.

Kapil Parmar - Judo Men's -60kg J1 – Bronze

While playing in his village fields as a child, Kapil Parmar accidentally touched a water pump and suffered an electric shock so strong it made him lose his vision in both his eyes. In fact, he was in a coma for six months following the accident.

Parmar had always enjoyed judo at school, and through his recovery period, discovered the sport of blind judo. Parmar brought home India's first ever Paralympic medal in judo, when he secured the bronze in Paris.

Praveen Kumar - Men's high jump T64 (Athletics) – Gold

Praveen Kumar was born with a short leg, and he tried various sports before first settling on volleyball as a way to build his confidence. However, participating in a high jump event showed him what he was capable of and taught him of the opportunities available to disabled athletes.

He shifted his focus to the high jump and began raking in the wins. He now has a gold medal added to his collection from the Paris Paralympics.

Hokato Hotozhe Sema - Men's shot put F57 (Athletics) – Bronze

Sema was stationed in Jammu & Kashmir's Chowkibal as a young soldier in the Indian Army. He dreamed of joining the Special Forces, but a landmine eruption caused a severe left leg injury; he had to have his leg amputated from the knee below.

Determined not to give up, Sema began training at the Army Paralympic Node. At the Paris Paralympics, he came home with a bronze medal in shot put, with a career-best throw of 14.65 m.

Simran Sharma - Women's 200m T12 (Athletics) – Bronze

Simran Sharma was born prematurely with visual impairment. Even so, her athletics journey began in school, where she quickly excelled and won various medals. However, she couldn't afford proper training and facilities later on; this changed when she met her now-husband, Gajender Singh, a fellow athlete and army soldier—and also her coach.

She won the bronze medal at the Paris Paralympics, with a personal best timing of 24.75s in the 200m race.

Navdeep Singh - Men's javelin throw F41 (Athletics) - Gold

At four feet four inches tall, Navdeep Singh was the subject of taunts in his Haryana village all through his life. He threw himself into athletics, competing in wrestling, too, until he could shut his critics up. A back injury, however, ended his wrestling dreams, and Singh eventually picked up the javelin.

He initially finished second at the Paris Paralympics but was awarded the gold medal when the Iranian winner, Sadegh Beit Sayah, was disqualified.