Tokyo 2020 Paralympics
79.62% of Indian contingent at Tokyo will make their Paralympics debut
54 para-athletes from the country would be in contention across nine different sports at the Tokyo Paralympics.
43 out of the 54 Indian athletes will make their Paralympics debut in Tokyo.
The Tokyo Paralympics is just hours from the official kickoff. After their most successful campaign in history during the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games five years back, India is sending their biggest ever contingent for the 2020 edition in Tokyo.
Yes, a whopping 54 para-athletes from the country would be seen in contention across nine different sports in Tokyo starting 24th August 2021. For the record, India had sent just 19 athletes to the Rio de Janeiro Paralympics.
So naturally, there is quite a lot of hype around the Indian para-athletes. After a successful stint at the Tokyo Olympics, where the country won seven medals, the expectations from the Paralympics contingent is almost double the number.
Even India's Chef de Mission for the Tokyo Paralympics, Gursharan Singh, has proclaimed that the Indian athletes would return from Tokyo with at least 15 medals, including 5 gold.
While the 54-member Indian contingent certainly has experienced names like two time gold medallist Devendra Jhajharia, defending high jump champion Mariyappan Thangavelu, Rio bronze-medallist Varun Bhati amongst others, a major portion of the Indian contingent would be seen competing at the Paralympics for the first time in their career.
Out of the 54 qualified athletes, only 11 athletes have the experience of competing at the Paralympics prior. The remaining 43, i.e. 79.62% of the Indian contingent, would be seen making their Paralympics debut during the next couple of weeks in Tokyo.
