The Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games will feature the largest-ever Indian contingent, almost three times the size from five years ago (in Rio de Janeiro) and is drawn from nine para sports. If Rio brought the country's best Paralympics haul of two golds, one silver and one bronze, strength in participation numbers this time is accompanied by heightened hopes of medals at the 2021 Paralympics in Tokyo. We look at some of the leading medal prospects for India at the August 24 - September 5 Games.
Devendra Jhajharia's chance to be para GOAT
The tallest Indian name in the competition is Devendra Jhajharia. He's 40 and a two-time Paralympic gold medallist (2004 & 2016) in javelin throw. He is the only Indian with two gold medals at the Paralympics and competes in the F46 category, built for athletes with unilateral upper limb impairment. Athletes are grouped into sport classes according to their level of physical impairment and its impact on competitive performance. The lower the numerical figure in the sport class, the greater the impairment. When he was eight, Jhajharia's left arm had to be amputated up to the elbow after he accidentally touched a 11000 volt live cable. At the selection trials in July this year, Jhajharia breached his own world record with a throw of 65.71.
Also competing in his category is Sundar Singh Gurjar, who had something of an anticlimactic campaign at the previous Paralympic Games in Rio. He had missed out on participation for reporting to the call room 52 seconds late and would look to make amends. In the F64 event - for lower limb impairment - are two strong Indian medal hopefuls, Sandeep Chaudhary and Sumit Antil. The Haryana throwers had finished with gold and silver respectively at the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships.
Mariyappan Thangavelu chases second medal
Defending champion Mariyappan Thangavelu will be chasing the distinction of becoming the first Indian para-athlete to win gold at two successive Games. Two years after the Rio Games, the high jumper from Tamil Nadu suffered an ankle injury and underwent surgery but returned with a bronze at the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships. The T63 event - for athletes using prosthesis with single above the knee amputation - in which Mariyappan will be competing, will have two more Indian names of reckoning - Rio bronze medalist Varun Singh Bhati and Asian Para Games double medalist, Sharad Kumar.
Bhati, who was diagnosed with polio at age six, started with basketball and later transitioned to high jump, reckoning his strength in vertical jumps would come good. He followed up his 2016 Rio medal with a bronze at the World Para Athletics Championships the next year and silver at the 2018 Asian Para Games. Sharad, who finished sixth in Rio, has been training in Ukraine since and brought home his second World Championship silver medal two years ago.
Pramod Bhagat leads badminton hopes
Para-badminton makes its debut at this Games and India's seven-member team carries a clutch of promising names. Leading the charge is world No. 1 in the SL3 category (players with impairment in one/both legs and poor walking/running balance), Pramod Bhagat. He'd marked himself as a name to watch out for in Tokyo with a double gold medal-winning display at the 2019 Para World Championships. Apart from singles, he'll also be partnering 19-year-old Palak Kohli in the mixed doubles.
The others who are expected to put up a strong showing are Krishna Nagar and Tarun Dhillon, ranked No. 2 in the SH6 (players with a short stature) and SL4 (impairment in one/both legs and minimal impairment in walking/running balance) categories respectively. There's also the unique women's doubles pair of Parul Parmar and Palak, 29 years apart in age and ranked inside the top ten in the world.
Manish Narwal, shooting star at 19
From one para shooter in Rio, India has punched double digits in Tokyo qualification, with as many as 10 in the sport making the cut this time. Among India's brightest hopes is 19-year-old Manish Narwal (SH1 - upper and/or lower limb impairment) in the men's 10m air pistol event. The teen, who first started shooting in 2016, won silver medals at two World Cups within a year. At the 2018 Asian Para Games, he brought home India's lone gold medal in the sport with a Games record. The 2019 World Championship bronze medalist also shattered the world record (in the P4 50m pistol event) at the Para Shooting World Cup in March this year.
The other Indian in the men's 10m pistol fray is 39 year-old Singhraj, also a Worlds medalist. Among the women, Avani Lekhara, currently ranked fifth in the women's 10m air rifle standing SH class, will feature in four events in Tokyo. She'd won a World Cup silver earlier this year.