Hangzhou, Oct 21: Tokyo Paralympics gold medallists Avani Lekhara and Sumit Antil will be leading India’s biggest-ever contingent as the country aims for a record medal haul in the Para Asian Games, which commence here on Sunday, a fortnight after the able-bodied athletes achieved historic success at the same venue.
Star shooter Avani, who won a gold and a bronze medal in Tokyo Paralympics, and javelin thrower Antil, who also clinched a yellow metal in the Japanese capital in 2021, will be among a host of Indian medal contenders in the continental showpiece, which will continue till October 28.
Another para shooter Manish Narwal as well as shuttlers Pramod Bhagat and Krishna Nagar, who all won gold in the Tokyo Paralympics, will be among the 313 Indian athletes at the Hangzhou Para Asian Games, the most in any edition.
India is participating in 17 out of the 22 sports in the Hangzhou Para Asian Games. The country is fielding athletes for the first time in rowing, canoeing, lawn bowl, taekwondo and blind football.
Nearly 4,000 athletes from 43 countries will be competing across 22 sports in 566 gold-medal events in the Para Games.
The Para Asian Games were originally scheduled to take place from October 9-15, 2022 but were postponed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
China, who have topped the medals table by an overwhelming margin in every edition so far, are fielding 439 athletes. The host country won a whopping 319 medals (172 gold, 88 silver, 59 bronze) in the 2018 edition.
The first Para Asian Games was held in 2010 in Guangzhou, China, where India had finished 15th with 14 medals, including one gold. In the 2014 and 2018 editions, India had finished 15th and ninth respectively, and this time, the country would be looking to move up the medals table. (PTI)
