With 84 participants, the largest in the nation's history and a potent combination of youth and experience, these para-athletes from India would be aiming for an unmatched gold rush at the Paralympic Games in Paris.
India finished in 24th place overall after winning a record 19 medals in the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021, including five gold. Three years on, the nation aims to win around 25 medals, including ten gold medals.
This ambition has been fueled by the remarkable performances over the last year and the size of the contingent.
India had an unprecedented year at the Hangzhou Asian Para Games, winning 111 medals total-29 of them gold.
Here are India's top medal contenders:
Sumit Antil (para athletics) - Category: F64; Event: Men's javelin throw
Yogesh Kathuniya (para athletics) - Category: F56; Events: Men's discus throw
Krishna Nagar (para badminton) - Category: SH6; Event: Men's singles
LY Suhas (para badminton) - Category: SL4; Events: Men's singles, Mixed doubles SL3-SU5
Manish Narwal (para shooting) - Category: SH1; Event: P1-M 10m air pistol
Avani Lekhara (para shooting) - Category: SH1; Events: R2-W 10m air rifle standing; R3-X 10m air rifle prone; R8-W 50m rifle 3 positions
Bhavinaben Patel (para table tennis) - Category: 4; Events: Women's singles WS4; Women's doubles WD10
Sheetal Devi (para archery) - Category: ST; Events: Women's individual compound open; Mixed team compound open
Harvinder Singh (para archery) - Category: ST; Events: Men's individual recurve open; Mixed team recurve open
Prachi Yadav (para canoe) Category: VL2; Event: Women's Va'a single 200m
How Indians have fared at the Paralympic Games:- Heidelberg 1972 (1 medal)
- Stoke Mandeville/New York City 1984 (4)
- Athens 2004 (2)
- London 2012 (1)
- Rio 2016 (4)
- Tokyo 2020 (19)
- Total medals: 31
State-wise representation of para athletes in Paris:- Haryana (12 athletes)
- Rajasthan (9)
- Uttar Pradesh (5)
- Tamil Nadu (5)
- Madhya Pradesh (4)
- Maharashtra (4)
- Gujarat (3)
- Jammu & Kashmir (2)
- Punjab (2)
- Uttarakhand (2)
- Andhra Pradesh (2)
- Karnataka (2)
- Kerala (1)
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