A total of 84 inspirational stories represented India at the Paralympics 2024. Their stories and collective success will be recorded in India’s sporting history with aplomb. The medals tally reflected a rise—from the 24th spot in Tokyo to the 18th in Paris. The medal haul rose sharply in the last two events. However, the beginning of India’s Paralympic journey was sedate. A blank in 1968 was followed by the first medal—a gold in swimming—at the next edition. After a break from participation in 1976 and 1980, India won four medals in 1984. Then there were blanks from Seoul to Sydney.
The story of failure went beyond the Games. The Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) was mired in needless controversies. A semblance of normalcy prevailed after Rio 2016. The tally increased from four in Rio to 19 in Tokyo. In Paris, the count rose to 29 medals with seven gold. What was heartening is that most athletes billed as medal hopes did go on to win—Avani Lekhara and Sumit Antil retained their gold medals, while the 17-year-old para-archer Sheetal Devi became a sensation.
Credit must go to the newly-elected PCI that took charge months ahead of Paris, but the unprecedented support athletes received from the government through the Sports Authority of India must also be noted. They supported all sports and the total spend was about Rs 74 crore under the Target Olympic Podium, Khelo India and national centres of excellence schemes.
The impact of the Paralympics will go beyond sport. As a country, India has a substantial population of persons with various disabilities—according to the census, the number was at 2.68 crore in 2011. Not just in sports, but the success of so many para athletes is inspirational to persons with disabilities to rise above their stations. On the other hand, the authorities must not compare this success with the Olympic Games.
All stakeholders including the SAI and the national sports federations know the difference between the two and hopefully will not try to brush the failure of the Summer Olympics under the success of the Paralympics. Instead, it will be prudent to learn from the para-athletes. For now, let’s celebrate their success.