Paris Paralympics: 25 medals a realistic target for India, says Deepa Malik

Deepa Malik, an iconic figure in spreading awarness about the Paralympic movement in India, had been playing her part as a mentor to several members of the Paris-bound contingent as well. The first Indian women para athlete to strike a medal in the Games in Rio Paralympics, she feels a tally of 25 medals could be a realistic target for the 84-strong contingent.   

 Set to leave for Paris on Sunday, Deepa – who had been an eventful run as the president of Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) till two months back, feels such a target is based on a number of parameters like the athletes’ world rankings, their timing or distance in qualifiers rather than just hype. ‘’Personally, I am against putting numbers but all the above factors combine to tell me that there could be around 25 medals this time. When I predicted 15 medals ahead of Tokyo, a lot of people thought I was overenthusiastic but they finished with 19,’’ she said over phone.

 It was till June that Deepa had been at the helm of the national body before Devendra Jhajharia, a double medallist javelin thrower in Paralympics, was elected as the new PCI chief. However, Deepa’s role in shaping up the careers of Tokyo medallists like Avani Lekhara, Bhavina Patel or archery’s wonder girl Sheetal Devi is well documented and she will be a part of the contingent in Paris from the beginning.

Speaking to National Herald exclusively over phone, the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna and Padma Shri awardee pointed out athletics, badminton and shooting as the areas of strength for India in Paris. "There are also serious medal prospects in archery, taekwondo, canoeing and Para powerlifting. To give you an example about the surfeit of para talent in the country, as many as 44 out of 84 members will be making their Paralympics debut,’’ the shot putter-turned-administrator said. 

The Tokyo Paralympics had been a watershed moment of sorts for Paralympics in India – not only on the strength of their alltime medals tally of 19 (the previous best being a haul of four from Rio) but also with the impact it created in the digital space for the sports fans. Reliving the journey, Deepa said: ‘’The carpet coverage on social media to spread awareness had really worked wonders for us. While the Union Sports Ministry had extended all forms of help with the TOPS (Target Olympic Podium Scheme) in preparation for both Tokyo and Paris, we are reaping some of the results of the hard work.

‘’There is a distinct buzz as the contingent is leaving for Paris and this was certainly missing before. We managed to get Jio on board for broadcasting of the events while two major sponsors like Indian Oil and SBI Foundation have come on board. Things are only going to look up for Paralympics from here onwards,’’ said Deepa, who is now the South Asian representative in Asian Paralympic Committee apart from being the chairperson of UP Para Sports Association.   

Incidentally, the elite Indian Para athletes had carried on the good work in the three-year Paris cycle – with them scalping 111 medals at the Hang Zhou Para Asian Games. Sumit Antil, the gold medallist javelin thrower in Tokyo, had been simply exceptional in the interim as he created a world record in his category in Hang Zhou – apart from winning back-to-back golds in the 2023 and 2024 World Championships.

‘’We have come a long way from the situation even a decade back when I had to plead with the likes of Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ) to support our athletes. Now, everyone is talking about it. As far as I am concerned, I am always at hand to help the boys and girls irrespective of being the PCI chief or not,’’ Deepa added.