India will produce its best-ever performance this year, bagging at least 15 medals, including five gold in Tokyo 2020, says the nation’s Chef de Mission for the 2020 Paralympic Games, Gursharan Singh.
India will field its largest-ever contingent with 54 athletes set to compete in nine sports including Para Archery, Para Athletics, Para-Badminton, Para Canoeing, Shooting Para sport, Para-Swimming, Para Powerlifting, Para Table Tennis and Para-Taekwondo.
“I am confident that these would be our best ever Paralympic Games. Our Para-athletes have worked very hard in the past years and shown great results in international competitions. They are raring to go for the Games,” Singh, secretary general of the Paralympic Committee of India, said in a release.
“We are expecting around 15 medals including 5 golds at these Games. We have high medal hopes in Para Athletics, Para Badminton, Para Shooting and Para Archery.”
India has a total of 12 medals including four gold in 11 Paralympic appearances.
The first batch of the Indian team, led by PCI President Deepa Malik, have arrived in Tokyo.
T Mariyappan, who is India’s flag bearer at the Games, has also arrived in Tokyo and there will be a lot of expectations from the para high jumper to clinch his second Paralympic gold in Tokyo.
Mariyappan made a brilliant leap of 1.86 metres at the recent National selection trials.
“It was one of my best performances (at selection trials) since Rio 2016,” said Mariyappan, who had suffered a permanent disability to his right leg in a road accident.
