Harvinder Singh has made history as the first Indian archer to secure a gold medal at the Paralympics. His incredible achievement came shortly after world champion shot-putter Sachin Sarjerao Khilari set a new Asian record, earning a silver medal in the F46 category, further solidifying India’s most successful Paralympic campaign to date.
The 33-year-old archer from Haryana won five consecutive matches, including a 6-0 victory over Poland’s Lukasz Ciszek in the final. Harvinder, whose legs were impaired in his infancy due to a complication from dengue treatment, had previously won a bronze in Tokyo three years ago.
Khilari, aged 34, recorded a 16.32m throw in his second attempt, surpassing his own Asian record of 16.30m, set during the World Para-Athletics Championships earlier this year in Japan. His silver marks India’s 11th track-and-field medal at this year’s Games.
The two athletes’ success has taken India’s total medal tally to 22, placing the country in 15th place overall. This includes four golds, eight silvers, and ten bronze medals.
Canada’s Greg Stewart retained his Tokyo Paralympic gold with a 16.38m throw, while Luka Bakovic from Croatia took home bronze with a 16.27m effort. Although Khilari’s silver was a momentous achievement, he expressed some disappointment: “I had wanted to win the gold medal, but it did not happen. It’s my best distance but I am not satisfied. I feel I could have done better. It was not my day,” he said after his record-breaking throw.
The high jumper Sharad Kumar and Mariyappan Thangavelu added to India’s success with silver and bronze in the men’s T63 event, while Ajeet Singh and Sundar Singh Gurjar secured silver and bronze in the F46 javelin final. The F46 classification is for athletes with arm impairments, who compete in standing events.
India also saw progress in the sprinting categories, as world champion Simran reached the 100m T12 semifinals, achieving a season’s best time of 12.17 seconds. The visually impaired sprinter finished just behind Cuba’s Omara Durand, the reigning Paralympic champion and world record holder. The semifinal is set to take place on Thursday.
In women’s table tennis, Tokyo silver-medallist Bhavinaben Patel was eliminated in the quarterfinals, losing to China’s Ying Zhou in a hard-fought 3-1 defeat in the class 4 category. Meanwhile, her teammate Sonalben Patel bowed out in the round of 16 against Croatia’s Andela Muzinic Vincetic. Bhavinaben, diagnosed with polio as an infant, had earlier become the first Indian Paralympic medallist in table tennis with her Tokyo achievement.
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In shooting, Indian competitors Nihal Singh and Rudransh Khandelwal missed out on qualifying for the final in the mixed 50m pistol (SH1) competition. Nihal, a 2023 world championship bronze medallist, finished 19th, while 17-year-old debutant Rudransh, who lost his leg in an accident at age eight, finished 22nd.
With numerous medals already won and several events still ongoing, India’s Paralympic athletes continue to exceed expectations, marking this year’s Games as the nation’s most successful yet.
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