The Tokyo Paralympics 2020 will see the Indian contingent face off in events like Table Tennis and Archery, with both singles and doubles events taking place.
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The Tokyo Olympics 2020 may have ended with India winning seven medals, their highest tally in the history of the Games. With the end of the Tokyo Olympics 2020, there is the Paralympics 2020 event also held in Tokyo. India have a better record at the Paralympics as compared to the ‘normal’ Olympics. The Indian Paralympic athletes have won four gold medals and an equal number of silver and bronze medals. In the previous Paralympics held in Rio 2016, India won two gold medals with Mariyapan Thangavelu and Devendra Jhajhariya winning the gold medal.
The Paralympics 2020 event in Tokyo will begin on August 24 with an opening ceremony. India will begin their campaign on August 25 with Table Tennis and Archery events. Singles and doubles action will take place on that day. The Table Tennis singles time is not decided. The men’s archery round and mixed team round will begin at 10:30 AM IST. The women’s compound round will begin at 5:30 AM IST while the men’s compound round will start at 10:30 AM IST.
The Archery events in the Paralympics are classified according to W1, W2, and W3. Archers are classified according to the extent of their disability, with separate individual events for each of three classes. W1 is Wheelchair and Cerebral Palsy athlete with impairment in all four limbs. W2 is for wheelchair users with full arm function while W3 is for standing athletes in Amputee, Les Autres, and Cerebral Palsy categories. Some athletes in the standing group will sit on a high stool for support but will still have their feet touching the ground.
For Table Tennis, Athletes receive classifications between 1-11. Classes 1-5 are for those in wheelchairs. 6-10 classes are for those who have disabilities that allow them to play standing. Class 11 is defined for players with intellectual disability.
India is sending a contingent of 54 athletes, which is their largest ever in the history of the Paralympics. In the women’s compound archery round, Jyoti Baliyan will start off proceedings. Jyoti had a botched injection on her leg that saw her getting impacted with polio. She wanted to be a volleyball player but she managed to overcome the setback and become an ace archer. Jyoti has secured silver in the team event in the Asian Paralympics in 2019. She is the only female archer in the Indian contingent.
From the men’s side, Rakesh Kumar will be carrying the flag for India in archery. 12 years ago, Rakesh lost both his legs as he fell 400 feet into a gorge. In that car accident, five people were killed but Rakesh luckily survived. He suffered a spinal injury that left him paralyzed from below.
One day, Rakesh saw some children shooting some arrows and he realized that a sport called Archery existed. He developed his skills and in 2018, he became the No 1 ranked archer in the W2 open category at the Rohtak national trials.
In Table Tennis, Bhavina Patel and Sonalben Patel will be India’s hopes but they face the behemoth of the Chinese Table Tennis players. Bhavina is ranked No.8 in the world while Sonalben in 19th. Bhavina will participate in wheelchair class 4 category, Sonalben will compete in wheelchair class 3 category in women’s singles. They will also pair up for the women’s doubles event.
