Time to shine

Paris, August 28

Determined to return with a best-ever haul in the Paralympic Games, India’s biggest-ever contingent for the mega event will launch a historical campaign in the French Capital tomorrow with action starting in badminton, archery and table tennis. India’s archers, shuttlers and paddlers will get into action on the opening day of competition, getting through the preliminary rounds.

The 16-year-old para-archer Sheetal Devi will be among the first Indian participants to take the field for the women’s individual compound ranking round.

Sheetal, the wonder archer who shoots arrows using her legs and mouth, won two gold medals and one silver medal in the Asian Para Games in Hangzhou last year. The archer from Kishtwar in Jammu and Kashmir will be hoping to achieve a top seeding in the ranking round.

In the men’s compound archery, India’s Rakesh Kumar, who had narrowly missed a medal in the Tokyo Games, is hoping to bag his maiden medal. He will also start his campaign in the individual ranking round. Rakesh won a mixed team gold medal in the World Para Archery Championship last year. He also bagged a gold and two silver medals in the Hangzhou Games.

Also starting their campaigns will be Harvinder Singh and Pooja in the men’s and women’s recurve individual sections, respectively.

The top Indian medal contenders will also get into action in para-badminton with Sukant Kadam, Manoj Sarkar, Suhas Yathiraj, Manasi Joshi, Tarun Dhillon, Nitesh Kumar, Thulasimathi Murugesan, Manish Ramdass and Palak Kohli playing their respective group stage matches.

Aruna Tanwar, India’s main hope in para-taekwondo, will be up against Nurcihan Ekinci of Turkey in the Round of 16 stage of the women’s K44-47kg section.

‘10 medals in athletics’

India can clinch 10 medals, including five gold, in athletics, reckoned para-athletics head coach Satyanarayana, adding that the aim will be to better their performances from the last edition.

“In Tokyo, many of our athletes secured silver and bronze medals. Our focus this time is to convert those into gold,” Satyanarayana said.

“The training has been intense, and our athletes have shown incredible dedication. Most of them have already reached Paris to acclimatise to the conditions and continue their rigorous training,” he added.

Among the Indian athletes who are expected to excel are Sumit Antil (men’s javelin F64), Mariyappan Thangavelu (men’s high jump T42), Deepthi Jeevanji (women’s 400m T20), Sachin Khilari (men’s shot put F46), Ekta Bhyan (women’s club throw F52) and Simran Sharma (women’s 200m T12).

With an overall 19 medals, India finished at the 24th spot in the tally with five gold, eight silver and six bronze medals in the Tokyo Paralympics. In athletics, India won eight medals, including one gold, five silver and two bronze.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi wished the best to India’s contingent, saying the courage and determination of every athlete are a source of inspiration for the entire nation.

In a post, Modi said, “140 crore Indians wish our contingent the very best. The courage and determination of every athlete are a source of inspiration for the entire nation. Everyone is rooting for their success.” — Agencies

More than 2 million tickets sold

PARIS: Paris 2024 has sold just over two million tickets for the Paralympic Games, organisers said hours before the opening ceremony, adding they were confident it would be a sold-out extravaganza. “Over two million tickets have already been sold for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, including one million in just one month,” Paris 2024 said in a statement. Organisers said on Tuesday that some 500,000 tickets were still up for grabs, which, if they are sold, would put Paris just short of the record 2.7 million sold for the London 2012 Games, where 97% tickets were purchased. At the Beijing 2008 Games, 1.82 million tickets were sold and organisers distributed 1.62 million to schools, according to International Paralympic Committee figures. Some 2.1 million tickets were sold for the Rio 2016 Paralympics. Paris 2024, however, is confident the Paralympics will be sold out, which would be a first. reuters