India's Medal tally at Paris Paralympics hits 20, surpasses Tokyo Record

India achieved a historic milestone at the Paris Paralympics, surpassing its previous best with 20 medals. On Day 6, Indian athletes secured silver and bronze in the men's high jump T63 and javelin throw F46 events. Ajeet Singh and Sundar Singh Gurjar won silver and bronze in the F46 javelin category, with throws of 65.62m and 64.96m, respectively. In the T63 high jump, Mariyappan Thangavelu won bronze with a jump of 1.85m, while Sharad Kumar claimed silver with 1.88m.

Earlier, Deepthi Jeevanji, on her Paralympic debut, won bronze in the women's 400m T20 event with a time of 55.82 seconds. The T20 category is for athletes with intellectual impairment. Deepthi's journey from a small village in Telangana to the Paralympic podium is truly inspiring. She was discovered at a school-level athletics meet and later trained under renowned coach Pullela Gopichand.

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Missed Medals and inspirational stories

Indian shooter Avani Lekhara narrowly missed a second medal at the Paris Paralympics, finishing fifth in the women's 50m rifle 3 positions SH1 event. Despite the setback, Avani had earlier made history by becoming the first Indian woman to win consecutive Paralympic gold medals. The SH1 category is for shooters with lower-limb impairments who can compete in a sitting or standing position.

In other events, Bhagyashri Jadhav finished fifth in the women's shot put F34 category with a throw of 7.28m. Jadhav's story of overcoming depression after a life-changing accident is one of resilience and determination. Meanwhile, archer Pooja Jatyan reached the quarterfinals in the recurve women's open event but was defeated by China's Wu Chunyan after initially leading 4-0.