India first participated in the 1968 Summer Paralympics. The nation has appeared in every edition of the Summer Paralympics since 1984. The Paris 2024 Games marked India's 13th appearance at the Paralympics. The country has never participated in the Winter Paralympic Games.
India's first medal in the Paralympics came in the 1972 Games, with Murlikant Petkar winning a gold medal in swimming. Up to the recent 2024 Games, India have won 60 medals across all Paralympic Games, with the most successful Paralympic campaign being the Paris 2024 Games with 29 medals including seven gold, nine silver and thirteen bronze.
History Stoke Mandeville Games (1960–1984) The ninth International Stoke Mandville Games was later designated as the first Paralympics in 1960 and the International Stoke Mandeville Games Federation organized the Paralympic Games till 1984. India made its Paralympics debut in 1968. India's first medal came in the 1972 Games when Murlikant Petkar won the gold medal in the men's 50 meter freestyle event. India missed the subsequent two Summer Paralympic Games and returned in the 1984 edition. The nation has appeared in every edition of the Summer Paralympic Games since then while it has never participated in the Winter Paralympic Games. In the 1984 Games, Joginder Singh Bedi became the first Indian multi-medalist after he won a silver and two bronze medals in the athletics events. Bhimrao Kesarkar also won a silver medal in the javelin throw event to help record India's best finish till then with four medals.
Early Paralympic Games (1988–2000)
The 1988 Seoul Paralympics was the first to use the Paralympics name and the event has been held in the same host city as the corresponding Summer Olympic Games since then. The Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) was formed in 1994, five years after the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) was established in 1989. India continued to participate in each Paralympic Games thereafter, but failed to win a medal until the 2004 Games.
Early 21st century (2004–2016) In 2004, India won two medals with Devendra Jhajharia winning a gold medal in the javelin throw event and Rajinder Singh Rahelu securing a bronze medal in powerlifting. The only Indian medal across the next two editions came from Girisha Nagarajegowda, who won a silver medal in the Men's high jump F42 event at the 2012 Games.
India sent a delegation of 19 athletes for the 2016 Summer Paralympics. India won four medals in the event and the Games also marked the first instance of India winning two gold medals. Mariyappan Thangavelu won the first gold medal in the Men's high jump T42 event. Devendra Jhajharia became the first Indian to win multiple gold medals after his win in the Men's javelin throw F46 event. Deepa Malik and Varun Bhati were the other medalists with a silver and bronze medal respectively. Malik became the first Indian woman medalist in the Paralympic Games.
Tokyo Games (2020) The Indian contingent for the 2020 Games consisted of 54 people across nine sports. This was the nation's most successful Games ever with 19 medals including five gold, eight silver and six bronze medals before the Paris 2024 Games. Bhavina Patel won India's first medal, a silver in Table Tennis. Avani Lekhara became the first Indian woman paralympic athlete to win a gold medal and she won another bronze medal to become the first Indian woman multiple medalist in Paralympic shooting. Shooter Manish Narwal won another gold medal in 50 m pistol SH1 event and Singhraj Adhana won two shooting medals, a silver and a bronze. Harvinder Singh became the first Indian to win a medal in Paralympic archery after he won a bronze medal in the men's recurve event.
In badminton, Indian shuttlers won four medals including two gold medals by Pramod Bhagat and Krishna Nagar, a silver medal by Suhas Yathiraj and a bronze medal by Manoj Sarkar. In athletics, India won eight medals including one gold, five silver and two bronze medals. Sumit Antil won a gold medal in Javelin throw F64 with a new world record. Mariyappan Thangavelu and Devendra Jhajharia won silver medals to go along with the gold medals they won in the 2016 Games. This was Jhajharia third medal, which is the most by an Indian Para athlete in the Paralympic Games along with Joginder Singh Bedi. Nishad Kumar and Praveen Kumar won silver medals and Sharad Kumar and Sundar Singh Gurjar were the other bronze medalists.
Paris Games (2024)
India sent its largest contingent for the 2024 Games consisting of 84 people competing across 12 sports. India has won 29 medals with seven gold, nine silver, and thirteen bronze medals making them the most successful Games ever. Avani Lekhara won a gold medal in shooting for the second consecutive Games and became the first Indian woman paralympic athlete to win back-to-back gold and multiple medals. Kumar Nitesh won a gold medal in badminton at the men's singles SL3 event. Sumit Antil became the first Indian male athlete to defend a title at the Paralympics after he won the gold medal in the men's javelin throw F64 event, while setting two Paralympic records in the process.
Shooter Manish Narwal won a silver medal, his second medal after his gold medal in the 2020 Games. Nishad Kumar and Yogesh Kathuniya won silver medals at the men's high jump T47 and the men's discus throw F56 events respectively, in a repeat of their performance from Tokyo 2020. Suhas Yathiraj also won a silver medal for the second consecutive Games in the men's singles SL4 para-badminton event. Thulasimathi Murugesan won the first para-badminton silver medal at the women's singles SU5 event. Ajeet Singh Yadav and Sundar Singh Gurjar won the silver and bronze medals respectively in the men's javelin throw F46 event. This was Gurjar's second medal after he finished third in the same event in the previous Games. Sharad Kumar won his second Paralympic medal, a silver in the men's high jump T63 event. Mariyappan Thangavelu won a medal at his third successive Paralympic Games with a bronze in the same event. Sachin Khilari won India's fifth athletics silver medal, finishing second in the men's shot put F46 event.
Preethi Pal won India's first track medals at athletics by clinching two bronze medals in the women's 100m and 200m T35 events. Mona Agarwal and Rubina Francis also won bronze medals in shooting. Sheetal Devi became the youngest Indian Paralympic medalist after she won a bronze medal in the compound archery event along with Rakesh Kumar. Manisha Ramadass and Nithya Sivan won bronze medals in women's para-badminton events. Deepthi Jeevanji won the bronze medal at the women's 400 m T20 race and became the youngest Indian track medalist at the Paralympic Games.
Medal table
Games Athletes Gold Silver Bronze Total Rank 1960 Romecolspan=6 rowspan=2 1964 Tokyo 1968 Tel Aviv100000X 1972 Heidelberg10100125 1976 Torontocolspan=6 rowspan=2 1980 Arnhem / 1984 Stoke Mandeville / New York5022437 1988 Seoul 20000X 1992 Barcelona90000X 1996 Atlanta90000X 2000 Sydney40000X 2004 Athens12101253 2008 Beijing50000X 2012 London 10010167 2016 Rio de Janeiro19211443 2020 Tokyo545861924 2024 Paris8479132918 2028 Los Angeles Future events 2032 BrisbaneTotal2331621236056
Medals by sport +Medals by sport SportGoldSilverBronzeTotal Athletics 8 16 13 35 Badminton 3 3 3 9 Shooting 3 2 4 9 Archery 1 0 2 3 Swimming 1 0 0 1 Table tennis 0 1 0 1 Powerlifting 0 0 1 1 Judo 0 0 1 1Total16212360
List of medalists Here is the complete list of Indian medalists at the Olympics over the years. Medal Medalist Games Sport Event GoldMurlikant Petkar 1972 Heidelberg SwimmingMen's 50 m freestyle 3 SilverBhimrao Kesarkar 1984 Stoke Mandeville / New York AthleticsMen's javelin throw L6 SilverJoginder Singh BediMen's shot put L6 BronzeMen's javelin throw L6Men's discus throw L6 GoldDevendra Jhajharia 2004 Athens AthleticsMen's javelin throw F42-46 BronzeRajinder Singh Rahelu PowerliftingMen's 56 kg SilverGirisha Nagarajegowda 2012 London AthleticsMen's high jump F42 GoldMariyappan Thangavelu 2016 Rio de Janeiro AthleticsMen's high jump F42Devendra JhajhariaMen's javelin throw F46 SilverDeepa MalikWomen's shot put F53 BronzeVarun Singh BhatiMen's high jump F42 GoldAvani Lekhara 2020 Tokyo ShootingWomen's R2 10 m air rifle standing SH1 Manish NarwalMixed 50m Pistol SH1Sumit Antil AthleticsMen's javelin throw F64Pramod Bhagat BadmintonMen's singles SL3Krishna NagarMen's singles SH6 SilverBhavina Patel Table TennisWomen's singles C4Nishad Kumar AthleticsMen's high jump T47Yogesh KathuniyaMen's discus throw F56Devendra JhajhariaMen's javelin throw F46Mariyappan ThangaveluMen's high jump T63Praveen KumarMen's high jump T64Singhraj Adhana ShootingMixed P4 50 m pistol SH1Suhas Yathiraj BadmintonMen's singles SL4 BronzeSundar Singh Gurjar AthleticsMen's javelin throw F46Sharad KumarMen's high jump T63Singhraj Adhana ShootingMen's P1 10 m air pistol SH1Avani LekharaWomen's R8 50 m rifle 3 positions SH1Harvinder Singh ArcheryMen's individual recurve openManoj Sarkar BadmintonMen's singles SL3 GoldAvani Lekhara 2024 Paris ShootingWomen's R2 10 m air rifle standing SH1Kumar Nitesh BadmintonMen's singles SL3 Sumit Antil AthleticsMen's javelin throw F64Harvinder Singh ArcheryMen's individual recurve openDharambir Nain AthleticsMen's club throw F51Praveen KumarMen's high jump T64Navdeep SinghMen's javelin throw F41 SilverManish Narwal ShootingMen's P1 10 m air pistol SH1Nishad Kumar AthleticsMen's high jump T47Yogesh KathuniyaMen's discus throw F56Thulasimathi Murugesan BadmintonWomen's singles SU5 Suhas YathirajMen's singles SL4Ajeet Singh Yadav AthleticsMen's javelin throw F46Sharad KumarMen's high jump T63Sachin KhilariMen's shot put F46Pranav SoormaMen's club throw F51 BronzePreethi Pal AthleticsWomen's 100 m T35Women's 200 m T35Mona Agarwal ShootingWomen's R2 10 m air rifle standing SH1Rubina FrancisWomen's P2 10 m air pistol SH1Manisha Ramadass BadmintonWomen's singles SU5 Nithya Sre SivanWomen's singles SH6Sheetal Devi Rakesh Kumar ArcheryMixed team compoundDeepthi Jeevanji AthleticsWomen's 400 m T20Simran SharmaWomen's 200 m T12Hokato Hotozhe SemaMen's shot put F57Sundar Singh GurjarMen's javelin throw F46Mariyappan ThangaveluMen's high jump T63Kapil Parmar JudoMen's J1 -60 kg
Multiple medalists and milestones +Multiple medalists Athlete Sport Games Gold Silver Bronze TotalDevendra Jhajharia Athletics2004, 2016, 2020 2 1 0 3Avani Lekhara Shooting2020, 2024 2 0 1 3Sumit Antil Athletics2020, 2024 2 0 0 2Mariyappan Thangavelu Athletics2016, 2020, 2024 1 1 1 3Manish Narwal Shooting2020, 2024 1 1 0 2Praveen Kumar Athletics2020, 2024 1 1 0 2Harvinder Singh Archery2020, 2024 1 0 12Nishad Kumar Athletics2020, 2024 0 2 0 2Yogesh Kathuniya Athletics2020, 2024 0 2 0 2Suhas Yathiraj Badminton2020, 2024 0 2 0 2Joginder Singh Bedi Athletics1984 0 1 2 3Singhraj Adhana Shooting2020 0 1 1 2Sharad Kumar Athletics2020, 2024 0 1 1 2Preethi Pal Athletics2024 0 0 2 2Sundar Singh Gurjar Athletics2020, 2024 0 0 2 2
Milestones Milestone Athlete Game(s) Sport Medal(s) RefFirst medalistMurlikant Petkar 1972 Heidelberg Swimming GoldFirst gold medalist First multi-medalistJoginder Singh Bedi 1984 Stoke Mandeville / New York Athletics Silver Bronze Bronze First multiple gold medalistDevendra Jhajharia 2004 Athens 2016 Rio de Janeiro Athletics Gold GoldFirst double podium finishMariyappan Thangavelu 2016 Rio de Janeiro Athletics GoldVarun Singh Bhati Bronze First woman medalistDeepa Malik 2016 Rio de Janeiro Athletics SilverFirst one-two finishManish Narwal 2020 Tokyo Shooting GoldSinghraj Adhana SilverFirst woman gold medalistAvani Lekhara 2020 Tokyo Shooting Gold BronzeFirst woman multi-medalistFirst woman multiple gold medalistAvani Lekhara 2020 Tokyo 2024 Paris Shooting Gold GoldFirst double podium finish in a women's eventAvani Lekhara 2024 Paris Shooting GoldMona Agarwal Bronze
See also India at the Olympics India at the Deaflympics India at the Youth Olympics