At the Paris Paralympics 2024, India’s inspirational para judoka Kapil Parmar created history by taking home the country’s first-ever Paralympic medal in Judo. He defeated Elienton de Olivia, a Brazilian, on Thursday with an “Ippon” (10-0) margin, earning the bronze medal in the men’s 60kg J1 category. 

Parmar’s victory represented a remarkable comeback, as he had lost to Iranian S Banitaba Khorram Abadi in the semifinals by a similar margin. 

Prior to this, Parmar had defeated Venezuelan player Marco Dennis Blanco in the quarterfinals, scoring 10-0. Kapil Parmar’s successive win at the Paris Paralympics has earned him 56 medals over all from the Paralympics Games since 1968, including his first bronze in Judo.  

In 1968, the Summer Paralympics were held in Tel Aviv, Israel. At least 10 Indian athletes, including eight men and two women participated in the various events, but unfortunately, the team didn’t win any medals. Later India’s first ever Paralympic medal came in 1972, when Murlikant Petkar won a gold medal in swimming.  

Who is Kapil Parmar?  

Hailing from the small village of Shivor in Madhya Pradesh, Parmar has been a keen judo player since the early days of his childhood. He is the youngest of his five siblings, including four brothers and a sister.  

His father is a taxi driver while his sister runs a primary school. He learned judo from his elder brother who was Parmar’s training partner too. During his childhood, Kapil met with an accident while he was playing in the fields of his village and accidentally touched a water pump, causing heavy electric shock. For almost six months he remained in a coma. After he recovered from the accident, he was advised to put on weight. This was the time when he developed his interest in learning blind judo. With the support and encouragement of his mentors, Bhagwan Das and Manoj sir, Parmar began his journey to practice the sport at various levels.  

Kapil has faced many hardships throughout his life; he and his brother ran a tea stall to support his family. Even today, his brother Lalit remains the primary source of income, continuing to help him to pursue his passion for judo.  

Despite these setbacks, Kapil’s love for the game never ended and made him earn various recognitions at the national and international stage.  

Achievements  

He won a gold in the IBSA Judo Grand Prix Alexandria and a bronze in the 2023 IBSA World Games. In 2022, he clinched a silver medal in the Asian Para Games held in Zhejiang, China, and a gold at the Commonwealth Championship 2019. In addition to this, he also won gold in the Judo Grand Prix Tbilsi in the same year.