Paralympic Glory: Harvinder Singh and Dharambir Lead India to Historic Golds

Harvinder Singh made history by becoming the first Indian archer to win gold at the Paralympics. Club thrower Dharambir also achieved a top finish with a record-breaking throw, as Indian athletes continued to exceed expectations at the event. Their performances brought India's medal tally to 24, placing the country 13th overall with five gold, nine silver, and ten bronze medals.

Record-Breaking Performances

Sachin Sarjerao Khilari, a world champion shot-putter, and club thrower Pranav Soorma also had notable performances. Khilari secured silver with a 16.32m throw in the F46 category, surpassing his own Asian record of 16.30m set in May. Greg Stewart of Canada won gold with a 16.38m throw, while Luka Bakovic of Croatia took bronze with 16.27m.

The F51 club throw event saw Dharambir's Asian record 34.92m throw keeping him in the lead from start to finish. Pranav Soorma followed closely with a 34.59m throw, securing silver in the finals. This event is for athletes with significant movement impairments in the trunk, legs, and hands, requiring them to compete while seated.

Historic Wins and Personal Stories

Harvinder Singh's victory was particularly significant as he became the first Indian to win an archery medal at the Games three years ago in Tokyo with a bronze. This time, he improved his performance with five consecutive wins, defeating Poland's Lukasz Ciszek 6-0 in the final. Harvinder has a leg impairment due to dengue treatment complications during his childhood.

Khilari's journey is equally inspiring. Hailing from a farming family in Maharashtra's Sangli district, he suffered an accident in childhood that led to gangrene and muscle atrophy in his arm. Despite multiple surgeries and personal losses, including his mother's death when he was young, Khilari persevered to achieve success on the global stage.

Additional Achievements

Late on Tuesday night, India secured silver and bronze medals in both men's high jump T63 and javelin throw F46 events. Sharad Kumar and Mariyappan Thangavelu won silver and bronze respectively in high jump T63, while Ajeet Singh and Sundar Singh Gurjar took second and third places in javelin throw F46.

In Chateauroux, Indian shooters Nihal Singh and Rudransh Khandelwal did not advance to the final of the mixed 50m pistol SH1 competition. Nihal finished 19th with an aggregate score of 522 across six series. Rudransh, competing in his first Paralympics at age 17 after losing his left leg in an accident at eight years old, scored 517 to finish 22nd in the qualification round.

Simran Advances to Semifinals

World champion sprinter Simran advanced to the semifinals of the 100m T12 event with a season-best timing of 12.17 seconds. Visually impaired since infancy due to premature birth, she ranked second overall after Wednesday's heat race. She finished behind reigning Paralympic champion Omara Durand of Cuba, who also ran a season-best of 11.87 seconds.

Challenges in Table Tennis

In women's singles table tennis, Tokyo silver-medallist Bhavinaben Patel lost to China's Ying Zhou 3-1 in the class 4 quarterfinals. Bhavinaben fought hard but eventually succumbed to her Chinese opponent with scores of 12-14, 9-11, 11-8, and 6-11. Diagnosed with polio at one year old, Bhavinaben competes in class 4 for wheelchair-bound athletes with functional arms and hands.

Earlier, Sonalben Patel lost to Croatia's Andela Muzinic Vincetic in the round of 16 for class 3 women's singles.

India's best-ever performance at the Paralympics continues to inspire as athletes break records and achieve personal milestones on this global stage.