# India at the 2016 Summer Paralympics

India competed at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 to 18 September 2016. The nation made its official debut at the 1968 Summer Paralympics and has appeared in every edition of the Summer Paralympics since 1984. This is India's 11th appearance at the Summer Paralympics.
India sent its largest ever delegation for the Summer Paralympic Games consisting of 19 athletes competing across five sports. Devendra Jhajharia was the flag bearer during the opening ceremony and Mariyappan Thangavelu carried the Indian flag during the closing ceremony. The Games also marked India's best ever performance at the Paralympics till then with four medals including one gold, one silver and two bronze medals.

## Background

The Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) was formed in 1994, five years after the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) was established in 1989. The ninth International Stoke Mandville Games was later designated as the first Paralympics in 1960. The International Stoke Mandeville Games Federation organized the Paralympic Games till 1984. The 1988 Seoul Paralympics was the first to use the Paralympics name and the event has been held in the same host city as the corresponding Summer Olympic Games since then.
The nation made its Paralympics debut in 1968 and have appeared in every edition of the Summer Paralympic Games since 1984. This edition of the Games marked the nation's 11th appearance at the Summer Paralympics. Devendra Jhajharia was the flag bearer during the opening ceremony and Mariyappan Thangavelu carried the Indian flag during the closing ceremony.

## Disability classification

Every participant at the Paralympics has their disability grouped into one of five disability categories; amputation, the condition may be congenital or sustained through injury or illness; cerebral palsy; wheelchair athletes, there is often overlap between this and other categories; visual impairment, including blindness; Les autres, any physical disability that does not fall strictly under one of the other categories, for example dwarfism or multiple sclerosis.
Each Paralympic sport then has its own classifications, dependent upon the specific physical demands of competition. Events are given a code, made of numbers and letters, describing the type of event and classification of the athletes competing. Some sports, such as athletics, divide athletes by both the category and severity of their disabilities, other sports, for example swimming, group competitors from different categories together, the only separation being based on the severity of the disability.

## Medallists

The Games also marked India's best ever performance at the Paralympics till then with four medals including one gold, one silver and two bronze medals. Mariyappan Thangavelu won the first gold medal in the Men's high jump T42 event. Devendra Jhajharia won the other gold medal in the Men's javelin throw F46 event, breaking the World Record in the process. Deepa Malik and Varun Bhati were the other medalists with a silver and bronze medal respectively.
Medalists :
| Medal | Name | Sport | Event | Date |
| Gold | Mariyappan Thangavelu | Athletics | Men's High Jump T42 | 9 September |
| Gold | Devendra Jhajharia | Athletics | Men's Javelin Throw F46 | 14 September |
| Silver | Deepa Malik | Athletics | Women's Shot Put- F53 | 12 September |
| Bronze | Varun Bhati | Athletics | Men's High Jump T42 | 9 September |
Medals by sport :
| Sport | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| Athletics | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Total | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
Medals by day :
| Day | Date | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 3 | 9 September | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 6 | 12 September | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | 14 September | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | Total | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
Medals by gender :
| Gender | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| Male | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Female | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |

## Competitors

India sent its largest ever delegation for the Summer Paralympic Games consisting of 19 athletes competing across five sports.
| Sport | Men | Women | Total | Events |
| Archery | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Athletics | 13 | 2 | 15 | 11 |
| Powerlifting | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Swimming | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Shooting | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 16 | 3 | 19 | 15 |

## Archery

India achievied one berth in Women's individual recurve archery event after Pooja Khanna secured fifth-place finish in the final Paralympic qualifier held in Czechia and became first Indian para archer to qualify for the Paralympic Games.
| Athlete | Event | Ranking round | Ranking round | Round of 32 | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals |
| Athlete | Event | Score | Seed | Opposition score | Opposition score | Opposition score | Opposition score | Opposition score | Rank |
| Pooja Khanna | Women's recurve individual | 513 | 29 | Olszewska (POL) L 2–6 | Did Not Advance | Did Not Advance | Did Not Advance | Did Not Advance | Did Not Advance |

## Athletics

About 15 Indian athletes achieved the qualifying standard for the Games.

### Track events

| Athlete | Event | Heat | Heat | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Result | Rank | Result | Rank |
| Ankur Dhama | Men's 1500 m T11 | 4:37:60 | 2 | Did Not Advance | Did Not Advance |

### Field events

| Athlete | Events | Result | Rank |
| Mariyappan Thangavelu | Men's high jump T42 | 1.89 | |
| Varun Singh Bhati | Men's high jump T42 | 1.86 PB | |
| Sharad Kumar | Men's high jump T42 | 1.77 | 6 |
| Ram Pal Chahar | Men's high jump T47 | 1.93 PB | 6 |
| Devendra Jhajharia | Men's javelin throw F46 | 63.97 WR | |
| Sundar Singh Gurjar | Men's javelin throw F46 | DNS | DNS |
| Rinku Hooda | Men's javelin throw F46 | 54.39 PB | 5 |
| Ranbir Narender | Men's javelin throw F42-44 | 53.79 PB | 6 |
| Sandeep Chaudhary | Men's javelin throw F42-44 | 54.30 PB | 4 |
| Virender Dhankar | Men's javelin throw F57 | 35.73 | 9 |
| Virender Dhankar | Men's shot put F57 | 11.62 | 8 |
| Amit Kumar Saroha | Men's discus throw F51/52 | 9.01 | 7 |
| Amit Kumar Saroha | Men's club throw F51 | 26.63 | 4 |
| Dharambir | Men's club throw F51 | 21.39 | 9 |
| Deepa Malik | Women's shot put F53 | 4.61 PB | |
| Karamjyoti Dalal | Women's discus throw F55 | NM | NM |

## Powerlifting

India has one berth in the men's event after Farman Basha secured a place in the World Ranking list as of 29 February 2016.
| Athlete | Event | Weight lifted (kg) | Rank |
| Farman Basha | Men's 49 kg | 140 | 4 |

## Shooting

Naresh Sharma earned a qualifying berth for India in the last Paralympic qualifier event held at the 2015 IPC Shooting World Cup in Fort Benning, United States.
| Athlete | Event | Qualification | Qualification | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Score | Rank | Score | Rank |
| Naresh Sharma | Men's 10m air rifle standing SH1 | 583.0 | 21 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Naresh Sharma | Mixed 10m air rifle prone SH1 | 606.5 | 44 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Naresh Sharma | Men's 50m rifle 3 positions SH1 | 1094 | 22 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Naresh Sharma | Mixed 50m rifle prone SH1 | 591.0 | 40 | Did not advance | Did not advance |

## Swimming

Indian swimmer Suyash Jadhav achieved the 'A' qualifying mark in the finals of Men's 50m Butterfly S7 event at the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports World Games 2015.
| Athlete | Event | Heat | Heat | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Time | Rank | Time | Rank |
| Suyash Jadhav | Men's 50 m freestyle S7 | 31.58 | 5 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Suyash Jadhav | Men's 50m butterfly S7 | 33.63 | 5 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Suyash Jadhav | Men's 200m Individual Medley- SM7 | 3:01:05 | 6 | Did not advance | Did not advance |