India's campaign at the Paris Paralympic Games 2024 came to a close on Sunday, September 8, with Pooja Ojha being the final athlete in action.
Ojha was unable to qualify for the women's kayak 200m final, bringing her competition to an end.
India finished the Games with a total of 29 medals—seven gold, nine silver, and 13 bronze—making it the country's most successful Paralympic performance to date.
Although the initial target was 30 medals, India fell just short, concluding with 29.
India was ranked 18th on the points table due to the 29 medals they secured.
Pakistan, who had their eyes set on winning the event, finished the campaign joint-bottom at 79th position, with only one bronze medal to their name.
India performed well in the 2024 campaign, surpassing top nations like Switzerland, Belgium, South Korea, Turkey, Argentina, and other countries to finish in the top 20 countries in the world.
In contrast to India, traditional Paralympic powerhouses like China, Great Britain, the USA, and Italy performed strongly, securing spots among the top 10 nations.
India's performance in Paris has sparked a desire to achieve even greater success at the 2028 LA Paralympic Games.
On Saturday, Navdeep Singh claimed gold in the men's javelin throw F41 classification, bringing India's total medal count at the Paris Paralympics to 29.
Navdeep, who was competing in the short stature category, initially ended with silver after breaking Sun Pengxiang of China's world record with a 47.32m throw.
However, Sadegh Beit Sayah, an Iranian, received a disqualification for repeatedly displaying an unacceptable flag, resulting in the gold being upgraded to an unprecedented level. Pengxiang (44.82-meter) was awarded with the silver medal.
Meanwhile, Sayah managed to come in first with a new Paralympic record of 47.64 meters in his last throw, but was eliminated from the medal race due to his antics.
The International Paralympic Committee rules prohibit athletes from making any political gestures during the event, and Sayah was excluded from the final results on the basis of the unsportsmanlike/improper conduct.
At the same venue, Simran and her guide, Abhay Singh finished with a bronze medal in the women's 200m (T12) event after clocking an impressive personal best of 24.75 seconds.
The 24-year-old from Delhi who was diagnosed with visual impairment during her premature birth is currently the world champion in this event, finishing fourth in the 100m competition of the recently concluded Games with saturday's medal redeeming her campaign.
For India, the track-and-field has contributed 17 medals to this tally, four of them gold.
China has 208 medals, including 94 gold medals, while India is ranked 18th in the overall standings.
