PARIS: Indian para-athlete Praveen Kumar secured a gold medal for the country at the ongoing Paris Paralympics in the men’s high jump T64 final on Friday.
In the medal round, Praveen performed a record-breaking jump of 2.08 metres. With this jump, he has established an all-new Asian record.
At the second and third spots were the USA’s Derek Loccident (2.06 m) and Uzbekistan’s Temurbek Giyazov (2.03 m) respectively. Derek broke the Paralympic record by Japan’s Toru Suzuki from 2021 (1.88 m) while the Uzbekistan’s Giyazov recorded a personal best jump.
With this medal, India’s medal tally in the ongoing Paralympics has gone up to 26, with six gold medals, nine silver medals and 11 bronze medals. This is the most gold India has ever won at a Paralympics Games event, outdoing the total of five gold in Tokyo 2020.
Indian para-athletes in particular have made the country proud with three golds, six silver and five bronze medals, giving them a total of 14 medals.
This year, India has sent its largest Paralympics contingent ever, comprising 84 athletes across 12 sports, a testament to the country’s expanding para-sports ecosystem. India’s participation in the Paris 2024 Paralympics marks not only a significant increase in numbers but also in medal hopes, as the nation aims to surpass its previous achievements in Tokyo.
Tokyo 2020 was previously India’s most successful Paralympic Games, with the country winning 19 medals, including five golds, eight silver and six bronzes. (ANI)