In a historic day for Indian para-sports, Nitesh Kumar and Sumit Antil clinched gold medals at the Paris Paralympics 2024 on September 2. Nitesh Kumar, making his Paralympic debut, secured the top spot in the badminton men’s singles SL3 category by defeating Great Britain’s Daniel Bethell in a thrilling final with scores of 21-14, 18-21, 23-21. Kumar’s victory marks India’s second gold medal in Paralympic badminton, following Pramod Bhagat’s success in Tokyo.Sumit Antil, the javelin thrower, successfully defended his Paralympic title in the F64 category, becoming the first Indian man to do so. Antil broke his own Paralympic record with a throw of 70.59 meters, surpassing his previous mark of 68.55 meters set in Tokyo. Despite battling significant back pain, Antil’s performance solidified his place among elite Indian Paralympians.India’s success extended to other events as well. Suhas Yathiraj, an IAS officer, claimed his second consecutive Paralympic silver medal in the badminton men’s singles SL4 category. Yathiraj lost to France’s Lucas Mazur in the final with a score of 9-21, 13-21. This brings India’s total medal count in para-badminton at the Paris Paralympics to four.As of September 2, India’s overall medal tally at the Paris Paralympics stands at 14, including 3 gold, 5 silver, and 6 bronze medals. This impressive performance puts India on track for a record-breaking medal haul at the Paralympics.
Key points
- Nitesh Kumar won gold in badminton men’s singles SL3 category on his Paralympic debut.
- Sumit Antil defended his javelin throw title with a new Paralympic record of 70.
- Suhas Yathiraj secured his second consecutive silver medal in badminton men’s singles SL4 category.
- India’s medal tally at the Paris Paralympics 2024 has reached 14, including 3 gold, 5 silver, and 6 bronze medals.
59 meters.
Contradictions👾There are slight discrepancies in the reported medal counts across different sources.
While most sources agree on 14 total medals, the exact distribution of gold, silver, and bronze medals varies slightly between reports.
