Paralympics 2024: Youngest and Oldest of India in each sport

Indian para-athletes are all set to compete in the 2024 Summer Paralympics in Paris. In the squad of each sport that India is competing, there is a mix of young athletes eager to make their mark on the quadrennial event and seasoned veterans who are still going without losing hope, not thinking that they are way past their prime and time and again proving that age is no barrier.

Let's look at these youngest and oldest Indian para-athletes participating in different sporting disciplines.

Table Tennis

Patel Sisters

The sisters from Gujarat, Bhavina Patel and Sonalben Patel, are the dual representatives for India for table tennis at the 2024 Paralympics. With ages 37 and 36 respectively the two sisters are in for some paddle action in the upcoming quadrennial event.

Bhavina would be raring to improve the colour of the medal this time, having won the silver in the Tokyo 2020 in Class 4 of Table Tennis while her sister Sonalben, a Commonwealth bronze medalist will be eyeing a medal in the Class 3 category.

Shooting

Rudransh Khandelwal

At just 17 years of age, Rudransh Khandelwal is making his debut in the Paris Paralympics in the 50m pistol event in the SH1 category. The teenager from Rajasthan currently holds a world record in the mixed event in the category.

Sidhartha Babu

The oldest Indian athlete across all sports and certainly in shooting to compete in the Paris Paralympics, Sidhartha Babu will be aiming to finish his career on a high note.

This self-taught shooter from Kerala, who was proficient in Karate, turned to shoot after a freak accident that left him paralysed. By reading books that detailed the technicalities of shooting, Babu learned the basics of it and began practicing it by joining the rifle club in Idukki, Kerala.

He quickly became a national champion and record holder in the 50m Prone Rifle Para category. His recent achievements include a gold medal in the Mixed 50m Rifle Prone SH-1 at the 2023 Asian Para Games in Hangzhou, China, which was also an Asian Para Games record.

Powerlifting

Parmjeet Kumar

At 32 years old, Parmjeet Kumar is the youngest member of India’s powerlifting squad. Parmjeet Kumar has a sole ambition of winning a medal at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris according to his biographical information.

His ambition is not too far-fetched and well within reach as he became the first Indian to win bronze and gold medals in the World Para Powerlifting Championships in the 49kg category, held in Tbilisi in 2021 and Dubai in 2023, respectively.

Kasthuri Rajamani

Having only started powerlifting at the age of 34, Kasthuri Rajamani from Tamil Nadu will make her debut at the 2024 Paralympic Games at the age of 39 in the women’s 67 Kg category.

Rajamani, who began her career in powerlifting only in 2018 quickly rose through the ranks by winning the inaugural edition of the Khelo India Para Games last year and securing a bronze medal at the Bangkok Powerlifting World Cup with a lift of 105 kg.

Cycling

Two para-cyclists from Hyderabad are headlining the cycling representation from India at the Paris Paralympics. Jyoti Gaderiya who is 25 and Arshad Shaik at 31 years of age will compete in both the Road and Track events. Both cyclists have one leg amputated and have undergone training at the Aditya Mehta Foundation in Hyderabad.

Jyoti Gaderiya

Jyoti, who initially played Kabaddi, turned to cycling after an accident that changed her life which proved to be a fruitful result as she gets to represent India on the world stage. Jyoti has won twelve international medals in para-cycling.

Arshad Shaik

Arshad met with an accident at an early age but never let his disability affect his willpower. Arshad took up para-cycling as a sport and became quite good at it.

In 2022, he clinched two medals in the Asian track cycling championship and is currently ranked No. 5 in the world.

Athletics

Dipesh Kumar

An athletic GenZ athlete, Dipesh Kumar has demonstrated some serious power in hands and shoulders at just 19 years of age, qualifying him to represent India in the javelin throw in the F54 category.

Dipesh is a three-time national games gold medalist, a Khelo India Para Games gold medalist, and won a gold medal in the International Throws Competitions which took place in Tunisia earlier this year.

Soman Rana

Employed as a Havaldar in the Indian Army, Soman Rana, at 41 years old, is the oldest member of the Indian athletic contingent representing the country at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. The para-athlete from Meghalaya competes in the men’s shot put F57 category in his second Paralympics.

His recent achievements include a gold medal at the 2021 Tunis World Para Athletics Grand Prix and a silver medal at the 2022 Asian Para Games in Hangzhou, China.

Badminton

Nithya Sre Sivan

With Chinese legend Lin Dan as her idol, Nithya Sre Sivan, at 19 years old, is one of the two youngest para-badminton players from Tamil Nadu competing in the 2024 Paralympics, alongside Manisha Ramadass.

Nithya Sre who competes in the SH6 category has already made her mark by winning two bronze medals at the 2022 Asian Para Games and a gold medal at the Peru Para Badminton International Championships.

Manisha Ramadass

At just 19 years old, multiple world championship medalist Manisha Ramadass has already achieved world No. 1 status in the SU5 category in 2022. She was also named Para Player of the Year for 2021-2022 by the Badminton World Federation (BWF).

Her notable achievements include a gold medal at the Tokyo World Championships and a bronze medal at the 2022 Asian Para Games in Hangzhou, China.

Suhas Yathiraj

A proud IAS officer serving the nation both in societal and sports arenas, Suhas Yathiraj is an Arjuna awardee para-badminton player who will represent India at the age of 41.

Having already won a Paralympic silver medal in Tokyo 2020, Suhas will be aiming for a podium finish once again, this time with a gold medal hanging around his neck. His recent achievements include winning a gold medal at the Pattaya World Championships earlier this year and reaching a career-high of world No. 1. in the Men's Singles SL4 category.

Paracanoeing

Yash Kumar

At 27 years of age, Yash Kumar is the youngest of the three who are set to compete in the Paracanoeing of the Summer Paralympics in Paris. The athlete from Uttar Pradesh Yash won the quota along with other two through the 2023 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Duisburg, Germany.

He also secured a silver medal in the Asian Canoeing and Para Canoeing Sprint Championship held in Tokyo in April 2024. He will compete in the men’s KL1 event.

Pooja Ojha

Inspired by para watersports players practicing at a lake on her way to attending tuitions for competitive examinations, Pooja Ojha is now a para-canoeing representative from India on the world stage.

Despite having a huge fear of water in the initial stages, the 38-year-old woman from Bhind, Madhya Pradesh, confronted her biggest fear and pursued the sport. Her recent achievements include a silver medal win at the ParaCanoe World Championships in Hungary in the VL 200m category.

Archery

Sheetal Devi

Only woman professional archer to shoot arrows with her feet, Sheetal Devi is all set to make a mark at the Paris Paralympics 2024.

Devi, already an Asian Para games champion winning three medals last year in individual and mixed events in compound archery would very much like to emulate the successes she earned on a much bigger stage all while being just 17 years of age and the youngest in the Indian archery squad.

Rakesh Kumar

The oldest member in the Indian archery squad, 39-year-old Rakesh Kumar, is the highest-ranked compound para archer in India, holding a world ranking of No.11.

He has had successes leading up to the 2024 Paralympic Games with gold medal wins in the mixed team compound in the 2022 Hangzhou Para Asian Games and the 2023 World Para Archery Championship in the Czech Republic.