Paris Paralympic Games 2024
- Recently, the Prime Minister lauded the best ever performance of India’s para-athletes at the Paris Paralympic Games 2024.
- India won a total of 29 medals including 7 gold, 9 silver and 13 bronze medals in its’ best ever performance ‘at the Paris Paralympic Games 2024.
Key facts about the Paralympics:
- The Paralympics is the largest international event for athletes with disabilities, taking place immediately after the Olympic Games.
- Olympic-style games for disabled athletes were first held in Rome in 1960.
- It is overseen by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), a body recognized by the IOC.
Venue:
- An agreement for “One Bid, One City” was signed between the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the IPC on 19 June 2001
- This means that cities hosting the Olympic Games will automatically have to include the Paralympics in their bid.
The Paris Paralympic Games 2024:
- The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games will be held from 28 August to 8 September 2024. About 4,400 athletes from all over the world participated in it.
Sports Disciplines:
- Athletes participated in 22 sports, making it a comprehensive event, showcasing diverse athletic talents.
Mascot:
- Paralympic Freeze, inspired by the Friesian cap, is the mascot of the Paris Paralympic Games-2024. It is a symbol of freedom and independence.
Overall performance:
- China finished on top with 94 gold medals. Great Britain finished second with 49 golds while the United States finished third with 36 golds.
India’s performance at the Paris Paralympic Games 2024:
Delegation:
- India sent a delegation of 84 para-athletes, who will participate in 12 events (9 events at Tokyo 2021), Para-cycling, para-rowing and blind judo were new sports.
Performance:
- India won a total of 29 medals including 7 Gold, 9 Silver and 13 Bronze.
- India was ranked 18th.
- India achieved 50 medals in the history of the competition.
Rapid improvement:
- India won a total of 12 medals from its Paralympic debut in 1968 (Tel Aviv, Israel) to 2016, including four medals won at the 2016 Rio Games.
- However, in the next two editions, Tokyo 2021 and Paris 2024, India’s performance improved significantly and received 48 medals, now the total number of medals is 60.
Gold in Javelin Throw:
- India’s Navdeep Singh was awarded the gold medal in the final of the men’s javelin throw F41 event after Iran’s Beit Sayeh Sadegh was disqualified. He had won the silver medal earlier.
- This is India’s first gold medal in the men’s javelin throw F41 category.
The F41 category is a competition category for athletes with short stature.
