India's campaign in the 2024 Paris Paralympics ended on Sunday (September 8), culminating a campaign that will go down in the history books. The Indian contingent produced their best-ever medal haul in the 64-year-old history of the Paralympics by winning a stunning tally of 29 medals, which included seven gold medals.
India are set to finish in 18th place on the medal's tally, with the closing ceremony set to take place on Sunday night. This will mark the first time that India has finished in the top 20 of the Paralympics medal tally in any edition across the 17 editions so far.
The performance in Paris saw India beat their previous record achieved in Tokyo three years ago, where they won 19 medals with five golds. Remarkably, from 1960 to 2016, India won only 12 medals, which included just four golds.
In as many as four editions, (1960, 1964, 1976, 1980) India did not have a single participant while they returned home without a single medal six times (1968, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2008). Before the grand success in Tokyo three years ago, India's best display was of four medals each in 1984 and 2016. Only in two other editions, had they managed more than one medal.
India's Performance At Paralympics Over The Years
| Edition | Total Athletes Participating | Totals Medals Won | Gold Medals | Silver Medals | Bronze Medals | Final Rank In Medal Tally |
| 1960 Rome | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | DNP |
| 1964 Tokyo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | DNP |
| 1968 Tel Aviv | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | No Rank |
| 1972 Heidelberg | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 25 |
| 1976 Toronto | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | DNP |
| 1980 Arnhem | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | DNP |
| 1984 Stoke Mandeville/New York | 5 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 1988 Seoul | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | No Rank |
| 1992 Barcelona | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | No Rank |
| 1996 Atlanta | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | No Rank |
| 2000 Sydney | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | No Rank |
| 2004 Athens | 12 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 53 |
| 2008 Beijing | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | No Rank |
| 2012 London | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 67 |
| 2016 Rio de Janerio | 19 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 43 |
| 2020 Tokyo | 54 | 19 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 24 |
| 2024 Paris | 84 | 29 | 7 | 9 | 13 | 18 |
| Total | 233 | 55 | 16 | 21 | 23 | 60 |
Also Read: 1900 To 2024: A Look At India’s Medal Tally In The Summer Olympics Over The Years
Essentially, 48 out of India's 60 medals in the Paralympics history have come in the last two editions in Tokyo and Paris. These are not just the only two times, India entered double digits but also their two best finishes on the medal tally with 24th rank in Tokyo and 18th in Paris.
After a disappointing campaign in the 2024 Paris Olympics, the success in the Paralympics has shown a light at the tunnel of Indian sports. The success of India's paralympic athletes has set the platform for Indian athletes to strive towards global dominance.
In Paris, the seven gold medals were won by Avani Lekhra, Sumit Antil, Nitesh Kumar, Harvinder Singh, Dharambir Nain, Praveen Kumar, and Navdeep Singh. India won their first-ever Paralympic medals in Judo while also securing their first gold in archery in Paris.