Sumit Antil, the reigning champion in javelin throw, and Bhagyashri Jadhav, a prominent shot-put athlete, have been selected to carry India's flag during the opening ceremony of the Paris Paralympics 2024. The announcement was made at the send-off event for the Indian contingent on Friday.
The Paralympic Games, scheduled from August 28 to September 8, will be held at the same venues as the Olympics that concluded in the French capital on August 11.
India is sending its biggest contingent ever to the Paralympics, with 84 athletes set to compete. This marks a substantial growth from the 54 participants who represented the nation in Tokyo.
Reigning men's Javelin Throw Paralympics champion in the F64 category, Sumit also won the title in the same event at the Para-Athletics World Championships in May.
Sandeep, aged 25, holds the world record in men's javelin (F64). During the previous World Championships, he secured the gold medal with a throw of 70.83m, which was the world record at that time.
Later, at the Hangzhou Asian Para Games, Antil surpassed his own record by achieving a distance of 73.29m, clinching another gold medal.
Bhagyashri, meanwhile, secured a silver medal in the shot put F34 category at the 2022 Asian Para Games. She also competed in the Tokyo Paralympics, where she finished seventh.
In May of this year, Bhagyashri won another silver medal in Women's Shot Put F34 at the Para-Athletics World Championships.
