Para Games and India
This is a collection of articles archived for the excellence of their content. |
Asian Para Games
2018
From: Pratyush Raj, Economics scholar writes golden script in Para Asiad, October 11, 2018: The Times of India
See graphic:
Results, Performance of Indian players in Para Asian Games- 2018
Day 1: India bags 11 medals; Sandeep’s world record
Sandeep claims gold with world record, October 8, 2018: The Times of India
Javelin thrower Sandeep Chaudhary produced a stunning world record effort as India bagged 11 medals, including three gold, on a productive day at the Asian Para Games.
Chaudhary clinched India's first gold of the Games in the men's F42-44/61-64 category in the morning session, before middle distance runner Raju Rakshitha (women's T111500m) and swimmer Jadhav Suyash Narayan (men's S7 50m butterfly) added the yellow metals later on the second day of competitions.
Chaudhary claimed the top spot with a best throw of 60.01m, which he managed in his third attempt. He, in the process, shattered the F44 world record, bettering the earlier mark of 59.82, which Chinese Mingjie Gao made in 1980.
Para-athletics gave two more silver also with Ramya Shanmugam and Radha Venkatesh finishing second in women's F46 javelin throw and women's T12/13 1500m race respectively. Swimming also fetched four medals. Besides, the gold from Narayan, India also won three bronze from swimming on Monday. India also won a silver in para-powerlifting while shooting para sport gave the country a silver and a bronze.
With these 11 medals, India's medal tally stood at 3 gold, 6 silver and 7 bronze to occupy the eighth spot. India had won two silver and three bronze on Sunday. China are on top of the medal table with 35 gold, 14 silver and 17 bronze, followed by South Korea with 14 gold, 8 silver and 6 bronze.
Day 2: India wins 11 Medals, Including 3 Gold
India Clinches 11 Medals, Including 3 Gold, On Productive Day, October 9, 2018: The Times of India
India bagged three more gold with two coming from athletics in a rich haul of 11 medals to maintain its eighth spot on the third day of competitions at the Para Asian Games. Ekta Bhyan and Narayan Thakur clinched a gold each in women’s F32/51 club throw event and men’s T35 100m dash respectively before para-shooter Manish Narwal bagged the yellow metal in the men’s SH1 10m air pistol event.
All the Indian medals on Tuesday except for the shooting gold came from para-athletics. Bhyan produced her best throw in her fourth attempt, 16.02m, winning the F32/51 event ahead of UAE’s Alkaabi Thekra, who threw 15.75m. Bhyan had come into the competition on the back of a gold winning performance at the Indian Open Para Athletics Championship earlier this year.
The F32/51 class features athletes with significant impairment in hand function. Para-athletics continued to give gold for India as Thakur won the T35 100m final race in 14.02 seconds, ahead of Adawi Ahmed of Saudi Arabia (14.40) and Yiu Chui Bao of Hong Kong (14.62). This was India’s fourth gold from para-athletics.
Athletes in T35 class have coordination impairments (hypertonia, ataxia and athetosis). Youngster Thakur, who turns 17 on October 17, then gave India its third gold of the day. His category features athletes with upper and/ or lower limb impairment for competition in pistol events.
India also secured three silver medals through Surender Aneesh Kumar (men’s F43/44,F62/64 discus), Ram Pal (men’s T45/46/47 high jump), Virender (men’s F56/57 shot put).
Day 3: Harvinder wins India’s first Para Asian gold in archery
Harvinder Singh, an economics scholar from the Punjabi University in Patiala, created history by winning India’s first-ever Para Asian gold medal in archery.
The 27-year-old from Kaithal in Haryana was left with a stunted left foot after being injected with a wrong injection for fever when he was five.
He beat China’s Zhao Lixue 6-0 in the final of W2/ST category (athletes with limited impairment, who may take aim without needing a wheelchair) of the men’s individual recurve event in Jakarta on Wednesday. “This medal is for my mother who passed away last month due to kidney failure. She made a lot of sacrifices. I wanted her to hold the gold medal,” an emotional Harvinder told TOI over telephone from Jakarta.
“The past couple of months were very chaotic for me. I had to submit my PhD synopsis when the national camp was underway. But thanks to my federation, I was given time to submit it,” said Harvinder.
“A week after submitting my synopsis, my mother passed away. I was shattered, but my coach Jiwanjot Singh Teja (former national compound archery coach) gave me confidence to compete. I was very nervous and told him that I was not ready for the Para Asian Games, but he encouraged me and advised me to focus on my game,” he added.
Harvinder, who belongs to a family of farmers, took up archery as a hobby at the university. Teja, who recently resigned as the national coach over the Dronacharya snub, asked him to take up the sport professionally. Talking about his coach, the para athlete from Kaithal’s Wazirnagar village, said: “This is a conspiracy against him. India has lost a great coach. He has proved his worth and should get his due.”
Day 4: Sharad sets high jump record
Sharad smashes record to win high jump gold, October 12, 2018: The Times of India
India took over the podium in men’s high jump T42/63 category, claiming all the medals up for grabs with defending champion Sharad Kumar smashing two records to snare a second successive gold in the Asian Para Games. The 26-year-old world championships silver-medallist bettered the Asian as well as the Games record with a jump of 1.90m to claim the top honours. The T42/63 covers lower limb deficiency, leg length difference, impaired muscle power and impaired range of movement.
The silver was claimed by Rio Paralympic bronze-medallist Varun Bhati (1.82m) and the bronze went to the Rio gold-medallist Thangavelu Mariyappan (1.67m). Bhati’s jump was his season’s best effort. Sharad, who hails from Bihar, suffered paralysis in his left leg at the age of two after being administered a spurious polio medicine at the local eradication drive. He has been a former world number one.
Earlier, Indian javelin thrower Sundar Singh Gurjar won a silver medal in the men’s F46 category where two-time Paralympic goldmedallist Devendra Jhajharia finished fourth. In the same event, Rinku picked up a bronze medal to make it an India-dominated podium. The F46 category of disability covers upper limb deficiency, impaired muscle power or impaired range of movement.
India also logged a bronze in the men’s 400m T13 category with Avnil Kumar claiming the third position. The T13 classification deals with visual impairment. In javelin throw, Gurjar notched up his silver with an effort of 61.33m in his fifth attempt. Gurjar trained for 22 days in Finland before the Games, an exercise that was backed by the Sports Authority of India (SAI).
Rinku recorded a personal best of 60.92m for the bronze.
Day 5: India wins 5 gold, Deepa 2nd bronze
October 13, 2018: The Times of India
Para athletes added two gold medals to India’s kitty after chess players and a shuttler grabbed yellow metals as the country continued its impressive performance at the Asian Para Games where Paralympic medallist Deepa Malik bagged her second bronze.
K Jennitha Anto clinched the gold in women’s individual rapid P1 chess event after beating Manurung Roslinda of Indonesia 1-0 in the final round, while Kishan Gangolli got the better of Majid Bagheri in the men’s individual rapid VI - B2/B3 event.
Rapid P1 event is for physically impaired athletes while rapid VI - B2/B3 event features partially blind competitors. In para-badminton, Parul Parmar notched up a 21-9 21-5 victory over Wandee Kamtam of Thailand to win the gold medal in the women’s singles SL3 event.
Athletes in this class have impairment in one or both lower limbs and poor walking/ running balance but they play in standing positions. “I work as a coach in the Gujarat’s Sports Authority of India. My target is Paralympics. I will play in the World Championships next,” Parmar said.
“So, I want support from my office and I need sponsors. When we go to play international tournaments we don’t have sponsors and we have to fund ourselves. I request the government to help us,” she added. Later, para athletes further made it a memorable day for the Indians.
It was double delight for India in the men’s javelin throw F55 event as Neeraj Yadav and Amit Balyan clinched the gold and silver medals respectively. While Neeraj’s best effort was 29.24m, Amit threw the spear to 29.79 to win the silver. The bronze was bagged by Vietnam’s Kieu Minh.
Day 6: 72 medals (15 gold): India’s best-ever medal haul
Best-ever medal haul for India, October 14, 2018: The Times of India
India recorded its best-ever showing in the Asian Para Games by bagging 72 medals, including 15 gold, with the shuttlers adding two yellow metals and three bronze on the concluding day of competitions.
With 15 gold, 24 silver and 33 bronze medals, India was placed ninth in the overall tally. China finished on top with 172 gold, 88 silver and 59 bronze for a whopping total of 319 medals.
This was India’s best ever performance, bettering the last edition (2014) tally of 33 medals (3 gold, 14 silver, 16 bronze).
2023
Some players
Kritika Sharma, Nov 6, 2023: The Times of India
SHEETAL DEVI | ARCHERY
She shoots arrows with her feet. He is paralysed from the neck down, so he does it with his mouth. They are among India’s elite para athletes who totted up 111 medals – 29 gold, 31 silver and 51 bronze – at last month’s Asian Para Gamesin Hangzhou, China.
While every Indian feels proud of their achievements, few know how they overcame their physical challenges with grit. TOI gives you a peek into the lives of five such athletes.Videos and photos of Sheetal drawing a bow with her toes were all over social media last week. The 16-yearold from Loidhar village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar was born without arms. As a child, she learnt to write with her toes, but archery was never on her mind.
A few years ago, while Sheetal was in Bengaluru for treatment, an NGO volunteer saw her and introduced her to coaches at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Sports Academy in Jammu that trains athletes free of cost.
“The senior coaches thought archery would be a good fit for her. We figured out that she can use her legs and the equipment was then modified for her,” says Abhilasha Chaudhary, Sheetal’s coach at the academy.
Sheetal, who won three golds in mixed archery with her teammate Rakesh Kumar in Hangzhou, says she is now aiming for a Paris Paralympics gold next year.
ADIL ANSARI | ARCHERY The archery bronze medallist used to be a swimmer until one day in 2002 when he dived into the pool, hit his head on a rock and fractured his neck.
He has been paralysed from the neck down since. Adil had to relearn basic tasks like eating and drinking. “It took me an hour to shave, I used to hold the razor with both hands, because I had lost movement in my fingers,” he says.
Then, the wish to play revived. “The first thing I did was get back to swimming for a few years, but I could not continue since the infrastructure near pools is not disability-friendly,” he says.
In late 2015, Adil discovered archery. Because he cannot use his fingers to release arrows, he has modified his equipment: “I use a clip that I place in my mouth and press it to activate the trigger.”
PRAVEEN KUMAR | HIGH JUMP
The 20-year-old from Jewar, Uttar Pradesh, was born with one leg shorter and weaker than the other, but it didn’t stop him from winning a high jump gold in Hangzhou.
Praveen thanks his parents for disregarding doctors’ advice to make him use crutches as a kid. “They knew if I held crutches I would not be able to play at all.” He took up high jump in school and competed with ablebodied athletes.
Coach Satyapal Singh recognised his talent and decided to train him in Delhi. While Praveen credits Singh with all his success, he trains really hard – six hours every day. But over-training is also a risk for him.
“My left leg is weaker than my right leg and that creates problems when I train too hard. My nerves start paining and the muscles become so sore that the leg refuses to move,” he says, adding that he can better his Hangzhou result as he went into the event nursing an injury.
ANKUR DHAMA | RUNNING
Ankur, a farmer’s son from Sonipat in Haryana, was six when doctors told his parents he would not be able to see again. He was sent to the school for the visually impaired on Lodhi Road, Delhi, where the foundation of his future success was laid. “My teachers at the school were very supportive and introduced me to the right coaches,” he says.
In 2007, Ankur participated in his first running event at the national level and has been unstoppable since. He won gold in the men’s 1,500m and 5,000m T11 events in Hangzhou. Besides competing, he also trains other para athletes. As a 100% visually challenged runner, Ankur relies on a guide runner to point him in the right direction. “It takes about two months for the guide and the athlete to sync their running. We have to ensure that our feet are falling at the same distance at the same time, otherwise both can get injured,” says Ankur, adding that guide runners should be rewarded for the success of para athletes.
PARAMJEET KUMAR | POWERLIFTING
Polio crippled Paramjeet’s legs when he was two, and he grew up without playing. But when he was 17, the man from Punjab decided to channel his energy into body building. He took up powerlifting seriously after winning a national-level medal in 2011, and would ride 10km daily on his tricycle to reach his training centre.
The efforts paid off when he won a powerlifting bronze at the Jakarta Asian Games in 2018. This time, though, the 31-year-old wheelchair-bound lifter finished fourth because of a shoulder injury. Undeterred, Paramjeet wants to focus on next year’s Paralympics. “It’s my dream to win a medal at the Paralympics. I have promised myself I’ll get married only after I win a medal.”
A
Oct 24, 2023: The Times of India’'
Hangzhou : India picked up a whopping 17 medals, including six gold, with star shooter Avani Lekhara leading the way as the country ended the opening day of competitions at fourth spot in the Asian Para Games here on Monday. India (6 gold, 6 silver, 5 bronze) are behind hosts China (31 gold, 29 silver, 23 bronze), Iran (9 gold, 9 silver, 6 bronze) and Uzbekistan (6 gold, 6 silver, 8 bronze) in the medals tally. As expected, track and field events contributed the most -11 medals (including five gold) out of the 17 on offer.
The day began with the Indians sweeping all the three medals in men’s club throw F51 event with Pranav Soorma winning the gold. The 29-year-old Soorma broke the Asian Para Games record with an effort of 30.01m while Dharambir (28.76m) and Amit Kumar (26.93m) were second and third respectively. There were only four competitors in the event with Saudi Arabia’s Radhi Ali Alharthi finishing last with a throw of 23.77m.
Soorma suffered a spinal cord injury after an accident when he was 16 and that left him paralysed. But that did not deter him from taking up para sports, and he won a silver medal at the 2019 Beijing World Para Athletics Grand Prix event. The F51 club throw event is for athletes who have movement affected to a high degree in the trunk, legs and hands. All the competitors compete while seated and rely on their shoulders and arm to generate power.
Later in the day, Avani made history as she clinched gold in the women’s R2 10m air rifle standing SH1 category with a games record score of 249.6. “This gold is very special for me because this is my first medal in the Asian Para Games. This Asian Para Games is part of my preparations for the 2024 Paralympics,” Avani said after winning gold. The other Indian para shooter Mona Agarwal finished sixth in the standings. Rudransh Khandelwal added a medal in shooting by winning a silver in P4 mixed 50m pistol SH1 event.
Born in Jaipur, Avani met with a road accident in 2012 that made her wheelchair-bound ever since. Inspired by Olympic champion Abhinav Bindra, her shooting career took off in 2015, and she has never looked back. Avani burst into the limelight with her stupendous show at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics where she became the first Indian woman to win a gold medal in the Summer Games. There, Avani also won a bronze m edal in the 50m rifle 3 positions.
Three Indians also finished 1-2-3 in the men’s high jump T63 category but only gold and silver were awarded under Asian Paralympic Committee (APC) rules. The three Indians were the only competitors in the event and under APC’s ‘minus one rule’, Shailesh Kumar won the gold with an Asian Para Games record jump of 1.82m while Mariyappan Thangavelu (1.80m) took the silver.PTI
B
Oct 25, 2023: The Times of India
NEW DELHI: Prachi Yadav achieved a historic milestone by becoming the first Indian to win a gold medal in para canoe at the Asian Para Games in Hangzhou.
India secured a total of 17 medals, which included three golds, bringing their overall count to 34 medals in the first two days of competition. The Indian contingent had previously earned 17 medals, including six golds.
India ended Day 2 placed fifth in the standings, one spot down from Monday, with nine gold, 12 silver and 13 bronze, behind China (165: 66 gold, 53 silver, 46 bronze), Iran (47), Japan (45) and Uzbekistan (38).
Sharath Shankarappa Makanahalli won the men's T13 5000m event and his gold was initially counted and included in India's medal tally.
But the number of India's gold medals was reduced to nine as there were only two competitors in the event.
Under the Asian Paralympics Committee rulebook, it is up to the technical delegate to award medals in cases where there are less than three competitors.
Prachi, who had secured a silver in the canoe VL2 category on Monday, added to her medal tally with a gold in the KL2 event.
Other athletes who won gold medals on Tuesday included Deepthi Jeevanji in women's T20 400m and Neeraj Yadav in men's F54/55/56 discus throw.
Prachi, a 28-year-old athlete who is paralysed from the waist down, completed the 500m distance in 54.962 seconds to secure the gold in the KL2 event, a category for athletes who use their arms and have partial trunk and leg function to propel themselves. She hails from Gwalior.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi appreciated the medal-winning efforts of the Indian athletes in a series of tweets.
"Congratulations to @ItzPrachi on winning the prestigious Gold Medal win in the Para Canoe Women's KL2 event. This was such an exceptional performance, which has made India proud. Best wishes for the endeavours ahead," Modi wrote on X, acknowledging the stupendous effort of Prachi.
In the women's T20 category 400m race, Deepthi set a new Games and Asian record with her gold-winning time of 56.69 seconds. This category is designed for athletes with intellectual impairments.
In the men's F54/55/56 discus throw event, Indian athletes swept all three medals. Neeraj Yadav clinched the gold with a Games and Asian record distance of 38.56m, while Yogesh Kathuniya (42.13m) and Muthuraja (35.06m) took home the silver and bronze, respectively.
Indian athletes also secured several silver and bronze medals on the day, showcasing their prowess in various events.
In para shooting, Rudransh Khandelwal and Manish Narwal earned a silver and bronze, respectively, in the P1 men's 10m air pistol SH1 event, while Rubina Francis secured a bronze in the P2 women's 10m air pistol SH1 category.
Bronze medalists on the day included Manish Kaurav (men's KL3 canoe), Ashok (men's 65kg powerlifting), Gajendra Singh (men's VL2 canoe), and Ekta Bhayan (women's F32/51 club throw).
On the first day of competition, India had an outstanding performance, winning a total of 17 medals, including six gold medals, with star shooter Avani Lekhara leading the way.
Apart from Avani (women's R2 10m air rifle standing SH1), the other gold medalists on Monday were Pranav Soorma (men's F51 club throw), Shailesh Kumar (men's T63 high jump), Nishad Kumar (men's T47 high jump), Ankur Dhama (men's T11 5000m), and Praveen Kumar (men's T64 high jump).
India is represented by 313 athletes at the Hangzhou Para Asian Games, the largest contingent in any edition, with a target of winning 100 medals. The country is participating in 17 out of the 22 sports and has introduced athletes for the first time in rowing, canoeing, lawn bowls, taekwondo, and blind football.
(With PTI inputs)
C
Ayantika Pal, Oct 27, 2023: The Times of India
NOIDA: Praveen Kumar, his coach says, is "unique".
The 20-year-old from Jewar is five feet and four inches tall and has a limb deformity, both reasons that make it particularly difficult for anyone to take up any sport, least of all high jump.
On Monday, Praveen won gold for India in high jump at the ongoing Asian Para Games in Hangzhou, China.
He clinched the top position with a jump of 2.02 metres, a performance that the youngster still isn't satisfied with.
"I had a target of 2.05 metres. ... I won the gold, so it's still an achievement, but I could have done better," he tells TOI over a call. Asked what inspired him to take up high jump, Kumar says he always wanted a career in sports.
"My teachers in sch'weeool would tell me it was of no use because of my disability, but that hurt my self-esteem and eventually, I took it as a challenge," he says.
It was in 2019 that Kumar first took to high jump and participated in the World Parathletic Junior Championship in Switzerland.
"At the time, I was preparing for the T42 category, in which the world record was a jump of 1.9m. But my category was changed to T44, for which it was 2.19m. I was convinced that I wouldn't be able to do it and I thought of leaving sports forever, but my coach kept motivating me and I took a chance," he says. Kumar won a silver with a jump of 1.75m in the competition.
He was riding on this confidence when the pandemic struck in March 2020, and in-person training sessions came to an abrupt halt as a lockdown was imposed. Instead of four-hour sessions daily at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, he found himself - like most others -- confined to his home and neighbourhood.
Coach Satyapal Singh admits it was tough, but Kumar's "will power inspired me". They decided on holding training sessions over video calls. But even then, there wasn't any training arena for high jump in rural Jewar. "I called his father, a farmer, and told him to make a patch of sand and mud for Praveen to practice on in his village Govindgarh Jewar," Singh says.
It worked. "Now that he has won the gold, it's a special moment for all of us," the coach adds.
D
Oct 27, 2023: The Times of India
Battling all odds dished out to them by fate, two differently abled athletes from western Uttar Pradesh finished on the podium at the Asian Para Games 2023 in Hangzhou, China. While Ankur Dhama, a visually impaired resident of Baghpat, became the first Indian para athlete to clinch two gold medals in the Asian Para Games, Zainab Khatoon, the daughter of a Meerut-based mason, clinched silver for India in women's 61kg powerlifting despite being paralysed below the waist.
Ankur, 30, who won gold medals in 5,000m and 1,500m (blind category), lost his vision when he was just seven.
His eyes got infected after playing Holi and he became 100% visually impaired in March 2000. He was introduced to sports by his blind school teacher in 2003 and was inspired by his elder sister, a physical trainer, to pursue track and field.
Two gold medals for visually impaired runner
Zainab suffered a similar misfortune. Now 26, she was just six years old when an injection administered to her left her partially paralysed. "I was suffering from fever. The doctor gave me an injection that affected my legs and I lost the ability to walk," she told TOI over the phone from Hangzhou.
Ankur's cousin, Sandeep Dhama, said, "His classmate threw 'gulal' at him on Holi. The colour went straight into his eyes, and within a year, he lost both the eyes. As far as studies are concerned, he was always brilliant." For years, Ankur used to wake up at dawn to train on a specially laid track for the visually impaired. At the same time, he did his graduation and postgrad from St Stephen's College, Delhi, and cleared the probationary officers' exam to secure a job as a banker.
“We are confident to cross 100 this time…tayyari jeet ki hai…” Deepa Malik ahead of 4h Asian Para Games
He added: "Due to sheer hard work, Ankur rose up the ranks, participating in various school, state and national-level sporting events. He left his bank job after working for about six months to join the Sports Authority of India. In 2019, he became a full-fledged coach in athletics." He was also felicitated with the Arjuna Award in 2018. His mother Santosh Devi, 60, said, "We belong to a family of farmers. I was just a medium to bring Ankur to this world, he was actually nurtured by his guides at Delhi Blind School. On Wednesday, he ran with his guide companion as per the Games rules."
Zainab showed similar grit and determination to achieve greatness. Her father Mohd Adil, 47, a resident of Sahu Nagla, about 90km from Delhi, said, "She aspired to see her name and story featured alongside those of her heroes in the newspapers. She was determined that she would find a way to achieve her goals." Adil said, "We are thankful to God who strengthened our daughter to such a level that she's making the country proud and even the Prime Minister of India is congratulating her."
He was referring to a post on X (formerly Twitter) by PM Modi, who tweeted, "Congratulations to Zainab Khatoon on the incredible achievement. It is a splendid silver for her in women's para powerlifting 61 kgs. Zainab's unparallelled determination and commitment are noteworthy. Best wishes for her upcoming endeavours.”
World Para Athletics Grand Prix
2021
Asian records for gold medallists Praveen, Nishad; India finish with 23 medals: Teenaged high jumpers Praveen Kumar and Nishad Kumar produced their personal best efforts to take a gold each and set new Asian records as the curtains came down on the 12th Fazza International World Para Athletics Grand Prix here. Praveen’s and Nishad’s gold medal-winning efforts were the high points for India who also had three silver and a bronze on Saturday, to end their campaign at the championships with 23 medals.
