India's Tokyo Paralympics campaign in Numbers

The Tokyo Paralympics was held under the cloud of covid-19 and the Taliban's invasion of Afghanistan, but managed to be quite a spectacle of some inspiring performances and quite a few controversies.

As far as India is concerned, it was the country's most successful campaign in the Paralympics and they more than doubled what their medal tally was before the start of the quadrennial event.

Here, we look at the Indian Paralympics campaign in numbers.

54 participants

India sent its biggest ever contingent in history to Tokyo. The Indian team consisted of a total of 54 athletes spread across nine different sports. From the country's favoured athletics to representation in debut sports badminton and taekwondo, the Indian athletes shone brightly during the past couple of weeks in Tokyo.

24^th in Medal Tally

India finished a commendable 24^th in the medal tally. This was India's best-ever finish on the medal table, and a massive jump from the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games where the country finished at 43^rd position.

19 medals

Before the Tokyo Paralympics, India had won a total of 12 Paralympic medals in history. The Indian athletes surpassed that, winning a total of 19 medals in Tokyo.

17 medallists

A total of 17 athletes won medals for India in Tokyo, which is 31.48% of the entire contingent the country had sent.

8 Silver medals

India returned from Tokyo with a total of 8 silver medals across sports. The silver medallists includes Devendra Jhajharia, Mariyappan Thangavelu, Bhavina Patel, Nishad Kumar, Suhas Yathiraj, Singhraj Adhana, Yogesh Khatuniya and Praveen Kumar.

6 Bronze medals

A total of 19 medal won by India, includes 6 third-placed finishes. Sundar Singh Gurjar, Singhraj Adhana, Avani Lekhara, Sharad Kumar, Manoj Sarkar and Harvinder Singh clinched the brown metal in Tokyo.

6 Near Misses

India had 6 fourth-placed finishes at the Tokyo Paralympics. Swaroop Unhalkar (10m Air Rifle SH1), Tarun Dhillon (Singles SL4), Navdeep (Javelin F41), Sandeep Chaudhary (Javelin F64), Soman Rana (Shot Put F57) and Pramod Bhagat-Palak Kohli (Mixed Doubles SL3-SU5) ended fourth in their respective events.

5 Gold Medals

India won a total of 5 gold medals in Tokyo Paralympics. Avani Lekhara, Manish Narwal, Krishna Nagar, Pramod Bhagat and Sumit Antil were crowned Paralympic Champions in Tokyo.

5 Medals in Shooting

India won a whopping 5 medals in Shooting at the Tokyo Paralympics. While Manish Narwal bagged gold in Mixed 50m Pistol, Avani Lekhara and Singhraj Adhana won two medals each.

4 Medals in High Jump, Badminton

India won 4 medals in high jump and badminton. The high jumpers who won medals include Mariyappan Thangavelu, Sharad Kumar, Nishad Kumar and Praveen Kumar. On the other hand, the shuttlers who clinched medals were Pramod Bhagat, Krishna Nagar, Suhas Yathiraj and Manoj Sarkar.

First medals in 4 sports

India won their first Paralympics medal in 4 sports – Table Tennis, Badminton, Shooting and Archery.

3 Medals in Javelin

3 out of the eight Indian javelin throwers clinched medals at Tokyo Paralympics. This includes gold from Sumit Antil, silver and bronze each from Devendra Jhajharia and Sundar Singh Gurjar, respectively.

3 Medallists below 20 years

3 of India's 17 medallists were aged below 20. This includes two gold medallists – Manish Narwal and Avani Lekhara, and India's youngest ever medallist in Olympics or Paralympics, Praveen Kumar.

3 Medallists above 35 years

If India had three medallists who were aged below 30, the country also had 3 medallists aged above 35. While double medallist Singhraj Adhana is 39-year-old, silver medallists Suhas Yathiraj and Devendra Jhajharia are 38 and 40 respectively.

2 World Records

The Indian athletes set two World Records during their campaign in Tokyo. While Sumit Antil set a new World Record in Men's F64 Javelin Throw, Avani Lekhara equalled the Women's 10m Air Rifle SH1 Final.

2 Paralympic Records

India also set two Paralympics record during their campaign in Tokyo. The World Record that Avani Lekhara equalled was also a Paralympic Record, while Manish Narwal set a Paralympic Record in Mixed 50m Pistol Final.

2 Asian Records

2 of the 54 Indian athletes set a continental record in their respective. While Nishad Kumar set an Asia Record in Men's T47 High Jump, Praveen Kumar followed it with an Asia Record T44 category.

2 double medallists

2 Indian medallists returned with more than one medal from Tokyo – the first time in India's Olympic or Paralympic history. While Avani Lekhara clinched a gold and a bronze, Singhraj Adhana bagged a bronze and silver.

1 Medal Stripped

1 Indian athlete, Vinod Kumar was stripped of his medal after he was found ineligible to play in the category he won a medal in. Vinod was put 'in review' following his classification before the Paralympics began, and was later found ineligible to compete in F52 Discus Throw.