The Olympics is the largest and arguably the greatest spectacle on this tiny blue dot of a planet we call home. Every four years, the best athletes across various disciplines and weight classes congregate in one city to contest against each other. The greatest physical feats achieved by man are usually on display during this duration. But we are not here to discuss that. We will instead be taking a brief look at the slightly lesser known cousin of the Olympic Games – The Paralympics.
Conducted after the Olympics, the Paralympic Games are a show of the greatest physical feats achieved by men and women who have displayed great grit and determination, despite their disabilities. This is often leads to some great stories that tend to get overshadowed by others.
While, it may not get the same attention as its more popular cousin, the Paralympics arguably has a greater impact on sports. It is a true representation of the inclusiveness of sports and forces athletes to not just go past their limits, but also work around their physical limitations.
India had a miserable campaign at the Paris Olympics, finishing with 1 silver and 5 bronze medals, ending 71st on the medal table. However, the Paris Paralympics has given the country something to cheer. The world’s fastest growing economy finished 18th on the medal tally with her athletes winning 7 Golds, 9 Silvers, and 13 Bronze. This is a massive improvement over the 2020 Games tally of 19 medals.
The reasons behind this success can be attributed to increased government support, addition of a recovery center with the games village, presence of more coaching and support staff (77, up from 45 in 2020), and increased funding with Rs.74 crore allocated compared to Rs.26 crore in 2020. The bulk of the medals came from para-badminton as well as track and field.
The stories that came from these last 12 days were truly inspiring. Whether it is 17 year old armless archer Sheetal Devi winning that elusive medal, or the likes of Harvinder Singh and Dharambir securing path breaking golds in archery and club throw respectively. Sumit Antil and Avani Lekhara defending their titled. Or Kumar Nitesh winning a thrilling final against Daniel Bethell to win gold in badminton. Armyman Hokato Hotozhe Sema from Nagaland overcoming adversity to win Bronze in shot put. The awe inspiring tale of Preethi. Simran Singh in 200m or Praveen Kumar in High jump. Deepthi Jeevanji who overcame ridicule to win bronze, in the process buying back the land her family sold to fund her training. And so many more.
Each of the 84 athletes who participated in the Paralympics 2024 deserve to be celebrated for their performance and bravery. I correct myself…Each athlete from every nationality deserve to be celebrated.
