Where did India finish in the medal tally of Tokyo Paralympics

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The Indian contingent had a memorable outing at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. It was their best-ever performance at the Paralympic Games in terms of medals secured. India won a total of 19 medals including five gold medals. The Indian athletes kept winning medals till the last day. Krishna Nagar bagged gold in the Men’s Badminton Singles (Class SH6) event while Suhas L Yathiraj, won the silver medal in the Men’s Singles SL4 event on Sunday.

With a medal tally of 19, India finished at the 24th position, 19 spots above in comparison to their previous outing at the 2016 Rio Paralympics. India could only secure four medals at the 2016 Summer Paralympics including two gold, one silver, and one bronze medal. It is worth noting that India had won only 12 medals since they started participating in the Paralympic Games, and this year, they have taken the tally to 31.

The Indian contingent had gone with 54 athletes in this edition of the Paralympics. India opened its account with a silver medal in the table tennis women’s singles (Class 4) event when Bhavina Hasmukhbai Patel went down fighting to China’s Zhou Ying. The first gold medal for India was brought by Avani Lekhara in the Women’s 10m Air Rifle SH1 event. The 19-year-old from Rajasthan became the first woman to win a gold medal at the Paralympics Games. She did not stop there and won the bronze medal in the women's 50m Rifle 3 Positions Shooting SH1 event. Singhraj Adana also claimed two medals, a silver and a bronze.

Who won what?

India shone in athletics as well, with four medals in high jump (Nishad Kumar, Praveen Kumar, Mariyappan Thangavelu, Sharad Kumar), three in javelin throw (Devendra Jhajharia, Sundar Gurjar, Sumit Antil) one in discus throw (Yogesh Kathuniya). Mariyappan Thangavelu, India’s gold medalist at the 2016 Rio Paralympics, claimed silver in the respective event.

Manish Narwal, Pramod Bhagat, Sumi Antil, Avani Lekhara, and Krishna Nagar were the five gold medalists. Yogesh Kathuniya, Nishad Kumar, Mariyappan Thangavelu, Praveen Kumar, Devendra Jhajharia, Suhas Yathiraj, Singhraj Adhana, and Bhavina Patel were the silver medalists. Harvinder Singh, Sharad Kumar, Manoj Sarkar, Sundar Singh Gurjar, Singhraj Adhana, and Avani Lekhara clinched six bronze medals for India.