With the Paris Olympics 2024 drawing to a close on August 11, sports lovers are now looking forward to the Paris Paralympics 2024. India ended the Paris Olympics 2024 with a tally of 6 medals. They would now like to bring back more medals from the Paralympic Games which are set to get underway on August 28.
While India sent a 117-member contingent for the Olympic Games, India will be sending a record 84-member contingent for the Paris Paralympics 2024 which happens to be their largest-ever Paralympics contingent to date. And now the flagbeares for the opening ceremony have also been announced and they happen to be Sumit Antil and Bhagyashri Jadhav.
READ HERE | Paris 2024 Paralympics: Date, Start Time, Live Streaming Details & More
The announcement was made during a special send-off event organised as the Indian para-athletes departed for the French capital to participate in the Paris Paralympic Games 2024.
Who is Bhagyashree Jadhav?
Bhagyashree Jadhav will compete in the shot put F34 category. She has been a consistent performer for Team India in competitions of international repute. She clinched a silver medal at the 2022 Asian Para Games while finishing seventh in the Tokyo Paralympic Games. She has won medals at the Feja World Cup as well as the World Para Athletics Games.
Who is Sumit Antil?
Meanwhile, Sumit Antil is a javelin thrower para-athlete. He holds the current world record in the F64 category and won India the gold medal with a record throw of 68.55 metres. He also has gold medals at the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships and the 2022 Asian Para Games.
ALSO READ | Paris Paralympics 2024: PCI Confirm List Of 84 Contingents For Mega Event
Para cycling, para rowing, and blind judo are some of the new sports that India will be competing in Paris Paralympics 2024. There are 32 female para-athletes featuring in Paris Olympics 2024, more than twice the number that took part in the last Paralympics.