India may not have won a medal on the opening day of the 2024 Paris Paralympics on Thursday, but
there were quite a lot of notable performances from the country’s athletes. Aruna Singh Tanwar, who had become the first Taekwondo star to compete at a Paralympics in Tokyo three years back, endured a heartbreaking exit in the round of 16 in Paris.
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India’s shuttlers and archers hogged much of the limelight, with the likes of Sukant Kadam and Sheetal Devi impressing.
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Full schedule and results, event-wise medal tally
Let’s now take a look at top five moments from India’s campaign on day one of the Paralympics in Paris:
Sheetal Devi shines
Indian archer Sheetal Devi was at her very best on Thursday in the women’s individual compound open ranking round at the Paris Paralympics. For a vast majority during the ranking round, it seemed like Sheetal would take the numero uno spot.
A dream debut for our teenage sensation! 🤩
17-year-old, Sheetal Devi broke the world record en route to her 2nd place finish in the ranking round of the Compound Open Archery event.#ParalympicGamesParis2024 #ParalympicsOnJioCinema #JioCinemaSports #Archery https://t.co/bGaL9VAk8o
— JioCinema (@JioCinema) August 29, 2024
Devi, who was born without arms, registered 703 points in ranking round, thus breaking the then world record of Great Britain’s Phoebe Pine Paterson, who had only set the record earlier in August.
However, that record was eventually broken by Turkey’s Oznur Girdi Cure, who scored a couple of 60s in her final two attempts to finish with a total score of 704. For 17 year-old Sheetal, though, her score of 703 was her new personal best.
Sukant Kadam makes a mark
Para-shuttler Sukant Kadam, playing his maiden Paralympics, was made to toil hard before he could eventually overcome Mohd Amin Burhannudin of Malaysia in the men’s singles SL4 group stage match.
What a comeback by Sukant Kadam! 🇮🇳💥 He showed immense determination to overturn a tough start, clinching victory against Malaysia’s Mhd Amin Burhanuddin with a final score of 17-21, 21-15, 22-20.
This win is a testament to Sukant’s resilience and fighting spirit. Onward and… pic.twitter.com/y0kRdBDFnq
— Paralympic Committee of India (@PCI_IN_Official) August 29, 2024
Sukant lost the first game with a 17-21 scoreline, but the 31 year-old’s spirited effort in the second game helped him stage a remarkable comeback. Sukant won the second game 21-15 and was down 16-20 in the third game.
However, the athlete from Maharashtra held himself together, saving four match points before clinching the win with six consecutive points, winning the third game 22-20.
Heartbreak for Aruna
Aruna Singh Tanwar, a taekwondo athlete, suffered a heartbreaking exit at the Paralympics on Thursday. But, despite the heartbreaking exit, it’s about the way how she handled that situation and fought hard till the very end that matters.
Facing Turkey’s Nurcihan Ekinici in the women’s K44-47kg last 16 bout, Aruna suffered an injury setback in the early stages of her bout. She injured her right knee and collapsed on to the mat in the initial stages of the bout. She had the medical staff attend to her, and despite the pain, a tearful Aruna stood on one leg and saw off the bout, eventually losing with a 0-19 score.
Nitesh-Thulasi win all-Indian contest
One of the earliest contests for India on the first day of the Paralympics was an all-Indian badminton contest. This was a mixed doubles match between Nitesh Kumar-Thulasimathi Murugesan pair and Suhas Yathiraj and Palak Kohli.
And Nitesh-Thulasi pair had enjoyed a quite comfortable victory, beating their Indian compatriots 21-14, 21-17 in just 31 minutes. The duo took a seven-point lead during the first game and the Suhas-Palak pair found the going tough, unable to deal with the powerful smashes of their opponents.
However, later in the day, Nitesh and Thulasi went down to Indonesia’s Hikmat Ramdani and Leani Ratri Oktila in straight games (15-21, 8-21).
Manisha Ramadass’s comeback
Another example of spirited comebacks was on display on Thursday when para-shuttler Manisha Ramadass came from a game down to clinch victory. Facing Maud Lefort of France, Manisha lost the first 8-21.
What a game, what a victory! 👏
Manisha Ramadass fought hard and came out on 🔝Don’t miss more thrilling action from Team India, LIVE & free on #JioCinema! 👇🏻https://t.co/zbz79IQMA3#ParalympicGamesParis2024 #ParalympicsOnJioCinema #JioCinemaSports #Badminton pic.twitter.com/fkKF2q5l5b
— JioCinema (@JioCinema) August 29, 2024
In the second game, however, it was calmness and composure that worked for the 19 year-old from Tiruvallur, not allowing her opponent any room for improvement. She went onto win the second game 21-6, before prevailing in the third game with a 21-12 scoreline.