Total medals won by India in each sport at Summer Paralympics

India won its first medal at the Paralympics in 1972.

India made its debut at the Paralympics in 1968 and has been featuring in every edition since 1984. It has only missed four editions of the games. Indian athletes have been breaking records as well as winning medals at the Paralympics.

The first medal for India came during the Heidelberg games 1972. Murlikant Petkar, a former Jawan in the army won gold in men’s 50m freestyle 3 swimming. It was a landmark achievement for the nation which was competing at the Paralympics for the second time.

The Indian contingent saw 10 athletes competing in the first two editions of the Paralympics. The Stoke Mandeville/New York 1984 Paralympics saw events being held in two different countries. 

The United Kingdom was hosting events for wheelchair athletes with spinal cord injuries at Stoke Mandeville. Meanwhile, the United states of America was hosting events for ambulatory athletes with cerebral palsy, amputees, blind and visually impaired athletes.

Also Read: Who is the youngest Indian athlete to win medal at Paralympics?

Two Indian para-athletes won medals during the Stoke Mandeville/New York 1984 games. Bhimrao Kesarkar won silver in men’s javelin throw L6. The games will always be remembered for Joginder Singh Bedi as he won three medals. Bedi won silver in men’s men’s shot put L6, bronze in javelin throw L6 and discus throw L6.

It was the first time at the Paralympics where Indian athletes shared a podium. Bedi and Kesarkar had finished second and third respectively in men’s javelin throw L6.

Rajinder Singh Rahelu during the Athens Paralympics 2004 delivered the nation’s first medal in powerlifting. He won bronze in men’s powerlifting under 56 kg weight division.

During the Rio Paralympics 2016, Deepa Malik became the first Indian woman to win a medal at the games. She won silver in women’s shot put F53 with a best attempt of 4.63m. Malik’s victory at Rio has played a major role in inspiring women para-athletes across the nation. 

She was appointed as the sub-regional representative for South Asia by the Asian Paralympic Committee in 2024. Malik and Devendra Jhajharia have played a vital role in raising awareness and setting records in the field with their talents. Jhajharia is one of the most successful Paralympians with two gold medals and one silver in Men’s javelin throw F46/F44.

Jhajharia was appointed as the president of Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) in 2024 and the post was previously held by Malik. They have encouraged younger athletes to collect more medals and success at the paralympics.

The Tokyo Paralympics 2020 was a major boost for the nation as the athletes returned home with 19 medals. Avani Lekhara opened India’s account in shooting as Harvinder Singh did the same in archery. Bhavina Patel also secured India’s first medal in table tennis. Sumit Antil won gold and broke the world thrice in the finals of men’s javelin F64.

The Paris Paralympics 2024 saw Lekhara win the first gold medal for India. She won gold in women’s 10m air rifle standing SH1 as Mona Agarwal claimed bronze in the event. Preethi Pal became the first Indian to win a medal in a track event at Paralympics. She won bronze in women’s 100m T35 event.

Athletics has played a major part for India at the Paralympics. Meanwhile shooting and badminton have also seen athletes win multiple medals. With the inclusion of more sports at the Paralympics, there has been an increase in participation from India.

Paralympic medals won by India in each sport

Games	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
Athletics	8	15	12	35
Badminton	3	3	3	9
Shooting	3	2	4	9
Archery	1	0	2	3
Swimming	1	0	0	1
Table tennis	0	1	0	1
Powerlifting	0	0	1	1
Judo	0	0	1	1
Total	16	22	24	60

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