Navdeep Singh during a podcast© X (Twitter)

File photo of Navdeep Singh© X (Twitter)

Yogesh Kathuniya gave Prime Minister Narendra Modi a new title© IANS

Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday announced cash awards of Rs 75 lakh to the gold medallists, Rs 50 lakh for the silver winners and Rs 30 lakh for the Indian athletes who have won bronze in the just-concluded Paralympic Games in Paris. Those excelling in mixed teams events, like archer Sheetal Devi, will get richer by Rs 22.5 lakh. The minister announced this during an event organised to felicitate the medallists at the mega-event.

Mandaviya also pledged full support and facilities for para-athletes to aim for more medals at the 2028 Los Angeles Paralympics.

“The country is rising in Paralympics and para sports. From 4 medals in 2016, India have won 19 medals in Tokyo and 29 in Paris with 18th place finish,” Mandaviya said.

“We will provide all the facilities to all of our para-athletes so that we can win more medals and gold medals in 2028 Los Angeles Paralympics.” India concluded their historic Paris Paralympics campaign with 29 medals, including seven gold, nine silver, and 13 bronze medals, marking the country’s best performance in the competition’s history.

India also crossed the 50-medal mark in Paralympic Games history with their excellent performance.

Swarmed by hundreds of supporters, India’s Paralympic medal-winners returned to a jubilant welcome on Tuesday after securing the unprecedented haul in the French capital.

The men’s javelin throw F41 final in the Paris Paralympic Games earned India its 29th and final medal of the campaign, as well as the 7th gold medal, thanks to Navdeep Singh. Though the event ended on a controversial note, with Navdeep’s initial silver being upgraded due to Iranian athlete’s disqualification over the display of a flag, the India star was elated to put the Tokyo Paralympics ghosts to bed. After making history for India, earning first-ever medal in the F41 category of the Paralympics, Naval drew comparisons with India’s Olympics star Neeraj Chopra.

Neeraj had famously earned a gold medal for India in the Tokyo Olympics, before adding as silver to his trophy cabinet in the Paris Olympics. Seeing Navdeep bag a the yellow metal in Paris Para Games, his coach Naval Singh claimed that his ward’s technique is even better than Neeraj’s.

“I knew Navdeep was going to make me and India proud. He has done a lot of hard work. Navdeep ki technique Neeraj Chopra se bhi behtar hai (Navdeep’s technique is even better than Neeraj Chopra’s). If he were in able-bodied athletics, he would have done wonders. But we are all proud of Navdeep. This is just the start for him-he is going to break several records,” Navdeep’s coach told Times of India.

Navdeep also lauded his coach for the work the two put together over the years, finally reaping the rewards in Paris Paralympics.

“My coach, Naval Singh, has worked a lot with me. He has trained me for almost seven years. He has played a big role in my career. Whatever I am today, it’s because of him. He has made me an international-level javelin thrower. All the credit for my technique and foundation goes to him,” Navdeep said.

The Indian Paris Paralympics contingent touched down at the Indira Gandhi International Airport on Tuesday. People gathered in large numbers to welcome them for their record-breaking performance at the multi-sport event. People also danced to the beats of dhols. Para javelin thrower Sumit Antil and para archer Harvinder Singh were among the others who returned to New Delhi on Tuesday. The Indian contingent concluded its Paralympics campaign in Paris on Sunday with a record haul of 29 medals, including seven golds, nine silvers, and 13 bronzes.

#WATCH | India’s #Paralympics2024 contingent returns to the country. Visuals outside Delhi airport.

India stood at the 18th position in the points table, with a total of 29 medals – 7 golds, 9 silvers and 13 bronze. pic.twitter.com/ra7GZOLf48

— ANI (@ANI) September 10, 2024

The 29-medal tally is the most by India in the history of the Paralympics. Following the conclusion of the landmark campaign, India surpassed its record medal tally of 19, which was achieved at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. India ended the marquee event in the 18th position.

India rewrote several records and unlocked some new “firsts” at the Paralympic Games. Para-shooter Avani Lekhara became the first ever Indian woman to secure two Paralympic gold medals as she managed to defend her women’s 10m air rifle standing SH1 shooting title with a world record score of 249.7 points.

India recorded a one-two finish at a para-athletics competition for the first time, with Dharambir and Parnav Soorma clinching gold and silver, respectively, in the men’s club throw F51 event. This was among India’s first-ever medals in this sport. Dharambir also set an Asian record of 34.92 m.

In the T64 high jump event, Praveen Kumar stood at the top of the podium with an Asian record-breaking jump of 2.08 m, landing India their sixth gold. India finished the competition with seven gold medals.

India also found its first-ever archery champion across the Olympics and Paralympics, with Harvinder Singh getting the gold in the individual recurve para-archery against Poland’s Lukasz Ciszek.

Indian javelin throw ace Sumit Antil became the first Indian male to defend their Paralympics title, making it back-to-back gold in the F64 event with a stunning Paralympic record-breaking throw of 70.59 m. He broke his own previous record set during the Tokyo 2020 not once, but thrice.

Deepthi Jeevanji clinched the bronze medal for India in the women’s 400m T20 category final race at the Paris Paralympics 2024. Although she came up short of her best timing, Deepthi was able to finish just behind Yuliia Shuliar (55.16 seconds) of Ukraine and world record holder Aysel Onder (55.23) of Turkey to win a huge medal for his country. It was a massive moment for the para-athlete who had to overcome hostility from her neighbours who made fun of her intellectual impairment and even called her a ‘monkey’. Deepthi’s parents were even asked to sent her to an orphanage but they did not stop supporting her.

“I was born during an eclipse, so our neighbours kept speaking against me. They called me monkey and advised my parents to abandon me or leave me at an orphanage. But I ignored all the negativity and focused on my sport. It was my family’s support that helped me overcome these challenges and earn this medal. It did affect me,” Deepthi told India Today.

“Because of our financial problems, my parents had to sell the land. When I won the Asian Games medal, I bought back the land for my family,” she added.

Earlier, her parents, Jeevanji Yadhagiri and Jeevanji Dhanalaxmi, had then recalled how their daughter had to face taunts while growing up. According to a report in The Indian Express, Deepthi was born with intellectual disability, a cognitive disease hampering communication as well as adaptive skills. 

“She was born during the solar eclipse and her head was very small at birth along with the lips and nose being a bit unusual. Every villager who saw her and some of our relatives would call Deepthi pichi (mental) and kothi (monkey) and tell us to send her to an orphanage. Today, seeing her become the world champion in a far-off country proves that she is indeed a special girl,” Jeevanji Dhanalaxmi, Deepthi’s mother, told The Indian Express in May.

“When my husband’s father died, we had to sell the farm to make ends meet. My husband would earn Rs 100 or Rs 150 a day so there were days when I had to work to support our family, including Deepthi’s younger sister Amulya. Deepthi was always a calm child and spoke very little. But when the village kids would tease her, she would come home and cry. So I would make her sweet rice or, on some days, chicken and that’s what made her happy.”

Navdeep Singh’s technique compared to Neeraj Chopra’s© X (Twitter)

Star Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra on Monday congratulated the Indian contingent for their performance at the Paris Paralympics. The Indian contingent concluded its historic Paris Paralympics campaign with a total of 29 medals, including seven gold, nine silver, and 13 bronze medals, the most by the country in the history of the competition. With this landmark campaign, India has surpassed their previously most-successful campaign at Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, which gave them 19 medals, including five golds, eight silvers, and six bronze medals.

Taking to his official X handle, Neeraj said that the whole nation is proud of the Indian contingent that participated at the Paris Paralympics.

“What a performance by #TeamIndia at the 2024 Paralympics. Congratulations to every participant and the entire support staff for giving their best and returning home with 29 medals! India is proud of you,” Neeraj wrote on X.

This record-haul also helped India cross the 50-medal mark in the history of the competition. A record of 84 para-athletes represented the tricolour from August 28 to Sunday in 12 disciplines, as compared to nine back in Tokyo 2020. India also participated in new sports at Paris: paracycling, para rowing, and blind judo.

India established several records and unlocked some new “firsts” at the Paralympic Games. Para-shooter Avani Lekhara became the first ever Indian woman to secure two Paralympic gold medals as she managed to defend her women’s 10m air rifle standing SH1 shooting title with a world record score of 249.7 points.

India recorded a one-two finish at a para-athletics competition for the first time, with Dharambir and Parnav Soorma clinching gold and silver, respectively, in the men’s club throw F51 event. This was among India’s first-ever medals in this sport. Dharambir also set an Asian record of 34.92 m.

India also found its first-ever archery champion across both the Olympics and Paralympics, with Harvinder Singh getting the gold in the gold medal clash of the individual recurve para-archery against Poland’s Lukasz Ciszek.

Indian javelin throw ace Sumit Antil became the first Indian male to defend their Paralympics title, making it back-to-back gold in F64 event with a stunning Paralympic record-breaking throw of 70.59 m. He broke his own previous record set during the Tokyo 2020 not once, but thrice.

The men’s javelin F41 final in the Paris Paralympics concluded on a controversial note after initial gold medal winner Sadegh Beit Sayah was disqualified over the display of a controversial flag. The ‘improper conduct’ from the Iranian athlete saw India’s Navdeep Singh’s silver medal being upgraded to gold, giving the country its 7th yellow metal at the Paris Para Games. While Navdeep was ecstatic to take the top podium spot in the event, he got emotional seeing his opponent Sayah break down upon knowing that his effort was disqualified due to the flag gesture.

Navdeep, who didn’t know exactly what happened when the disqualification decision was conveyed, also became emotional seeing the Iranian crying. The Indian athlete decided to hug his opponent in an attempt to console him.

“I was so surprised when the red card was shown to the Iranian javelin thrower. He started crying. He was in tears and weeping. I also became so emotional that I went to him and hugged him. I consoled him. Until then, I didn’t know what exactly had happened and the reason behind this big decision,” Navdeep told Times of India.

Iranian athlete Beit Sayah Sadegh has been disqualified for displaying the Hamas flag , It’s a belt treatment for terrorist sympathizer. As a result, Navdeep Singh’s silver medal has been upgraded to gold! India has secured its seventh gold medal in Paris! #navdeepsingh… https://t.co/cSl3klLHtP pic.twitter.com/ChSKub3CmI

— Kritika (@itsSSR0786) September 7, 2024

When Navdeep understood that he would be winning the gold medal because of Sayah’s disqualification, his happiness knew no bounds.

“When I was given the gold medal, I was so happy. Tokyo is in the past now, Paris is the present. I am really delighted that I could make my country proud. I’m really happy I could add one more gold medal to India’s tally. People always remember gold,” Navdeep revealed.

“My first throw was a foul. I looked at my coach, and he asked me to remain calm. In my second attempt, I threw 46-plus. I turned toward my coach and asked him how much I threw in my second attempt. He said 46-plus. I was amazed because I didn’t put much effort into it. It gave me so much spark and motivation to do even better. And then, the rest is history,” he further added.

Navdeep registered a distance of 47.32 in the final, which was a surprise for him too as he, by his own admission, had gone beyond the 42-meter mark in training.

“I never imagined I would throw 47-plus, honestly. I don’t have any idea how I did this. Because during my training just before departing for Paris, I was throwing 41 or 42. But I don’t know how I managed to throw 47-plus,” Navdeep asserted.

In an epic Paralympics tennis singles final, Great Britain’s Alfie Hewett incurred a 2-6, 6-4, 5-7 to Japan’s Tokito Oda. The matches lasted just over 2 1/2 hours, in front of a virtually sell-out crowd on the Philippe-Chatrier court at Roland Garros, in a great advertisement for the event. The pivotal moment came when Hewett narrowly failed to convert a match point at 5-3 on Oda’s serve, the Japanese held and then broke Hewett to level at 5-5.

Oda — who beat Hewett in last year’s Wimbledon final — won the next two games to take the gold. While it was indeed a thrilling clash of wheelchair tennis, it was Oda’s celebration that left everyone stunned. 

Oda, who at 18 years and 123 days became the youngest ever Paralympic men’s wheelchair singles champion, celebrated by spinning on his wheelchair but the force of it took the wheels off his chair.

Hewett was left at the net as Oda, crying tears of joy, lay on the ground in the chair after deciding to take off its wheels and throw it around himself. The Briton then graciously came round and helped pick the wheels up before hugging Oda and whispering in his ear.

Crazy Celebration of Winning Gold

Japan’s Tokito Oda at 18 is Paralympics Championpic.twitter.com/wF4tUyUcM8

— The Khel India (@TheKhelIndia) September 8, 2024

“I said, just take this in and enjoy this because what we’ve done today out there is nothing short of absolutely remarkable,” said Hewett on the chat he had with Oda.

“It may go down in wheelchair tennis Paralympic history as the greatest match ever.”

Wheelchair tennis is part of the four Grand Slam tournaments but prize money is tiny by comparison.

Hewett won GBP 65,000 (USD 85,000) when he secured the Wimbledon title in July, to complete a career singles Golden Slam, just GBP 5,000 more than first-round losers win in the able-bodied Wimbledon.

Even their matches usually take place on the outside courts, although Hewett’s triumph at Wimbledon this year was on the No 1 Court.

The strokeplay that both Hewett and Oda produced, as well as great showmanship from both of them delighted the crowd — so much so that on several occasions the umpire had to tell spectators to keep silent during play.   

“We certainly did our bit for wheelchair tennis today and the Paralympic movement,” said Hewett.

“And that, as I said to him, that’s sometimes bigger than winning a medal.

“I’m sure he probably disagrees, but right now, that’s what I’m clinging on to.

“This is something that can drive wheelchair tennis in the future, hopefully.”

Wheelchair tennis, though, is in pretty good shape compared to many other para sports in terms of coverage.

It is unique in para sport that it has an established world tour, with the benefits of television and media coverage for all their major tournaments.

With AFP Inputs