India excelled at Day 6 of Paris Paralympics 2024 once again scoring two gold medals and one silver. History was made by 33-year-old para-archer Harvinder Singh, who bagged India’s first ever gold in para-archery. He defeated Poland’s Lukasz Ciszek in a neck to neck finals and scripted history for himself and his country. 

Harvinder scored a 10 in the first set along with two 9s while the Pole shot a seven in between nine and eight, earning Harvinder a 28-24 win. Up 2-0, Harvinder started the second set with two successive nines and then topped it with a 10 for 28 while Ciszek had three 9s for another narrow defeat. Harvinder sealed the gold medal with two 10s followed by a nine (29) while Ciszek started with a seven and then scored two 9s earning a 29-25 win. 

Adversity from a Young Age 

Harvinder hails from farmer’s family in Kaithal, Haryana. He was just one and a half years old when he contracted dengue. Treatment for disease left him with impairment in both his legs. However, he later found a passion for archery after watching the 2012 London Paralympics.  

He is also currently pursuing his Ph.d. in Economics from Panjab University. 

He made his debut with a seventh-place finish at the 2017 Para-Archery World Championship. However, he dazzled in his next performance at the 2018 Jakarta Asian Para Games with a gold medal. Harvinder also penned history in the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo, bringing home India’s first medal in Para-Archery. 

India’s performance on day 6 

Harvinder Singh and club thrower Dharambir brought home two gold medals for India in Paris. Dharambir’s Asian record throw of 34.92m placed him in comfortable lead early on, followed by Pranav Soorma (34.59m) in the F51 club throw finals. 

The Club throw was India’s third double podium finish in the paralympics. Ajeet Singh and Sundar Singh Gurjar claimed silver and bronze medals, respectively, in the men’s javelin throw F46 event. Mariyappan Thangavelu and Sharad Kumar won the bronze and silver medals in the men’s high jump T63 final, for yet another double-podium finish for India. 

India now ranks 13th in the overall standings with a total of 24 medals including 5 gold, 9 silver, and 10 bronze. China leads the standings with 135 medals which includes 62 gold, 46 silver and 27 bronze medals. Great Britain holds the second position with 77 medals while the US is in third with 63 medals.  Netherlands stands at fourth with 28 medals while France stands at fifth with 50 medals. However, Netherlands is ranked higher due to more gold medals (15) as compared to France (14). 

With two golds and one silver medal on day six, India’s medal tally in the Paris Paralympics 2024 currently stands at 24. This is India’s best performance in the Paralympics so far, with the previous best being the 19 medals won in Tokyo. The Indian contingent is now one medal away from hitting the 25-medal target set by the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) President Devendra Jhajharia.