The recently concluded Asian Games in Hangzhou marked India’s most successful campaign in the history of the competition. Although they went to the Games with a slogan of ‘Iss Bar Sau Paar’, bettering the previous best haul of 70 medals with 107 exceeded expectations. In all, Indian athletes claimed 28 gold, 38 silver, and 41 bronze medals.
Looking forward to Hangzhou once more, the Asian Para Games will be held from October 22 to 28. This is the fourth edition of the Para Games, which started in another Chinese city — Guangzhou — in 2010.
Before Guangzhou 2010, it was the FESPIC Games. It was contested by athletes with physical disabilities from the Asia-Pacific region. These Games started in 1975 in Oita (Japan), featuring 18 nations, and were held every four years until 2006.
India at the Asian Para Games
India’s Para Games journey began with 102 participants (87 male, 15 female). Jagseer Singh in men’s triple jump F46 category bagged the country’s first gold medal. Indians participated in nine disciplines and finished with one gold, four silver, and nine bronze medals. They were 15th in the overall standings.
The number of disciplines participated in remained the same in Incheon (South Korea) in 2014, but the medal count rose to 33. Indians won three gold, 14 silver and 16 bronze medals. Parul Parmar became the first Indian woman to win a gold medal in the Asian Para Games. She won it para-badminton, singles SL3 category. However, there were 86 participants (70 male, 16 female), 16 fewer than four years ago. India’s place in the standings remained the same — 15th.
Jakarta 2018 was India’s most outstanding showing. There was improvement in every aspect. The number of disciplines participated in increased to 13 and the number of athletes rose to 211 athletes. There were 142 males and 48 females. A threefold increase in women’s participation than the previous edition.
This contingent returned with 72 medals, including 15 gold, 24 silver and 33 medals. It lifted India to ninth in the overall rankings.
In Hangzhou, in all likelihood, Indians will record their best-ever haul in the Asian Para Games. There are five sports that India will be taking part in for the first time — canoeing, blind football, lawn bowls, rowing, and taekwondo. A contingent of 309 athletes, including 196 men and 113 women, will take part in these Games.
A look at the Indian contingent
Parul Parmar, now 50, is the oldest active para-athlete in India. She will be the flag-bearer along with F51 category discus thrower Amit Kumar Saroha. These two and Sandeep Singh Maan, the T46 category long jumper, are the three athletes in the squad with four medals each.
Sheetal Devi, a 16-year-old archer from Jammu and Kashmir, became the first armless archer to win silver in the World Championships. She was diagnosed with phocomelia syndrome at birth and that led to undeveloped limbs.
She achieved the World Championship feat within 12 months of starting the sport after she met her coach Kuldeep Vedwan. “I feel great to be able to win the medal and reach this level. Everyone was happy at home after that. Preeti didi and Kuldeep sir guided me,” said Sheetal on the RevSportz Metamorphosis series.
Ekta Bhyan is a club and discus thrower in the F51 category. The athlete from Haryana damaged her spinal cord in a road accident in 2003. It resulted in lower body paralysis. She met Saroha in 2015. He motivated her to take up sports. She has been winning medals in national and international events since. The most recent was a bronze in the World Championships in Paris. She came sixth in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics and is yet to bag an Asian Para Games medal.
With Neeraj Chopra and Kishore Jena taking center stage in the Asian Games javelin throw, Sumit Antil is expected to do the same at the Para Games. After Devendra Jhajharia, he is the poster boy of Indian para-javelin. Born and raised in Delhi, he grew up wrestling with the aim of being a professional wrestler.
An accident in 2015 took his dream away from him. Without losing hope and with the help of para-athlete Rajkumar, he started javelin in 2017. Antil did well in the national circuit and soon made his mark at the top level. In the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, he won gold with a world record of 68.55m in the F64 category. He set another world record of 70.83m to win the World Championship gold in Paris earlier this year.
Avani Lekhara is another Tokyo 2020 gold medallist. The 21-year-old is a rifle shooter from Rajasthan. She met with a road accident in 2012, which damaged her spinal cord and left the lower portion paralyzed. She rejoined school two years later on a wheelchair and Abhinav Bindra’s autobiography — A Shot at History — inspired her to take up shooting.
She won gold in the 10m air rifle standing and bronze in the 50m rifle 3 position in Tokyo 2020. She is ranked No. 1 in the 10m air rifle standing SH1. For her feat in Tokyo, she won the Best Female Debut honour.
After Jhajharia’s gold in the Athens 2004 Paralympics, Mariyappan Thangavelu broke the drought and won the next gold for India in Rio 2016. He was run over by a drunken bus driver on his way to school and his right leg was crushed. That didn’t stop him from chasing his dreams.
He represented India in the T42 high jump in Rio and won gold with an effort of 1.89. Four years later in Tokyo, Thangavelu claimed silver with a jump of 1.86m. He was the flag-bearer in Jakarta 2018.
There are many more inspirational stories to be told in the coming days. From Bhavina Patel, Tokyo silver medallist in C4 table tennis, to Tokyo gold medallist in men’s singles para-badminton, Pramod Bhagat.
The Tri-colour is set to wave high again in Hangzhou, this time during the Para Asian Games. There is another contingent out there chasing the dream of finishing with 100-plus medals.