Unsung heroes: Indian kid winners at Asian Youth Para Games

No one in India can ignore cricket. Going beyond that, sports persons such as Mark Kom, PV Sindhu and Neeraj Chopra have also become household names. But if we ask an average Indian about Paralympics, the name that comes up most often is Oscar Pistorius! Meanwhile, Indian para-athletes ended 2021 triumphantly with a haul of a whopping 41 medals at the Asian Youth Para Games. This is the best ever medal score for India in any international para games ever.  

What is India’s medal tally at the Asian Youth Para Games? 
Team India won 12 gold, 15 silver, and 14 bronze medals at the continent-wide Para game event in Riffa city, Bahrain. The best performance came from the athletes. 8 of them won gold, 6 bagged silver, and 8 secured bronze medals. India won three medals in swimming, including one silver and two bronze. We also secured silver in powerlifting. 750 athletes from 30 countries competed across 9 sports - Para athletics, para badminton, boccia, goalball, para powerlifting, Para swimming, Para table tennis, Para taekwondo, and wheelchair basketball. According to the rules of the Games, the cut-off age is 23, making it largely dominated by teen sports stars.  

Who were the notable winners from India at the Asian Youth Para Games? 
Tokyo Paralympian Palak Kohli, Sanjana Kumari, and Hardik Makkar each claimed three medals in the Asian Youth Para Games. Of these three again, Palak Kohli deserves special mention. The 19 year old was the only Indian para-badminton player to have participated in three events at Tokyo Paralympics. She did not win anything. But speaking to the media after her Asian Youth Para Games performance, coach Gaurav Khanna said the exposure had bettered her performance. He added that her current win and the experience would help her prepare better for the future. Interestingly, Kohli, with fellow Paralympian Pramod Bhagat, rose up to the semi-finals in the mixed doubles category at Tokyo. Then they lost in the race for bronze. It’s good to see that she has bounced back instead of losing heart.