Paris [France], September 2
Indian para-athlete Yogesh Kathuniya bagged the eighth medal for team India in the ongoing Paris Paralympics 2024 as he won the silver medal in the Men’s Discus Throw F56 final on Monday.
Kathuniya’s best throw in the final of the event was 42.22 at the Stade de France. This was his second successive medal at the Paralympics after Tokyo 2020 with a best throw of 44.58 metres.
Before the ongoing mega event, the para-athlete clinched a silver medal in the F56 category at the World Para-Athletics Championship 2024. With an impressive throw of 41.80 meters, Kathuniya secured the second position, trailing behind the gold medallist, Brazilian athlete Claudiney Batista Dos Santos.
Dusan Lackzo of Slovakia claimed the bronze. He previously secured a silver medal in the Men’s Discus Throw F54/55/56 Final at the Asian Para Games 2023 in Hangzhou.
Brazil’s Claudiney Batista won the gold medal at the event with a best throw of 46.86 metres and 6the bronze medal was taken by Greece’s Konstantinos Tzounis whose best throw was 41.32 metres.
Other than this medal, India has secured a total of seven more medals at the ongoing marquee event, with one gold medal, two silvers, and four bronze medals.
Preeti Pal clinched the bronze medal in the 200m T-35 race on Sunday. With this medal, Preeti created history as she became the first-ever Indian woman athlete to win 2 medals in the track & field events at the Paralympics, or Olympics.
Nishad Kumar clinched a silver medal in the men’s high jump – T47 final on early Monday morning. Nishad, who also finished second in Tokyo three years ago, achieved his season-best performance with a leap of 2.04 meters, earning him the silver.
Rubina finished third and bagged a bronze medal in the P2-Women’s 10M Air Pistol SH-1 final on Saturday.
She gathered a total of 211.1 points in the final. Javanmardi Sareh of Iran finished with gold (236.8 points) and Turkey’s Ozgan Aysel went on to win the silver medal (231.1 points).
On Friday, reigning Paralympic champion, Avani Lekhara maintained her winning streak and struck gold in the women’s 10m air rifle final at the ongoing Paris Paralympics. Shooter Mona Agarwal bagged the bronze medal at the same event.
India’s first silver medal at the Paris Paralympics came in shooting as well, with Manish Narwal getting a silver in the men’s P1 10 m air pistol SH1 competition.This year, India has sent its largest Paralympics contingent ever, comprising 84 athletes across 12 sports, a testament to the country’s expanding para-sports ecosystem.
India’s participation in the Paris 2024 Paralympics marks not only a significant increase in numbers but also in medal hopes, as the nation aims to surpass its previous achievements in Tokyo.
Tokyo 2020 was India’s most successful Paralympic Games, with the country winning 19 medals, including five golds, eight silver and six bronzes.
