Paris [France], September 6 : India's para-judo player Kapil Parmar has expressed happiness at earning India's first-ever Paralympics medal in Judo.
The world no. 1 para-judo player Kapil lost in the semifinal and bowed out of the Men's J1 - 60 KG category at the ongoing Paris Paralympics on Thursday. However, he clinched a bronze medal by ousting Brazil's Elielton de Oliveira.
Speaking to ANI, Kapil said that he worked on sound techniques with his coach and relied on commands by his coach for his moves. But during the semifinals, the crowd was too loud and he could not hear his coach, hence, losing the game.
"This is the first time we got a medal in blind Judo. My hard work of 12 years paid off, I was his best student (laughs), and I got to learn a lot from him. We mainly work on sound techniques. Our coach guides us through their voice, and we take action according to that. But I lost the semifinals as there was a lot of cheering from the crowd, and I was not able to hear my coach. It was my mistake. However, we earned a medal for the nation," Kapil told ANI.
"Gold medal was being expected from me. I apologise for not being able to get that. I did some mistakes," he added.
The Indian player executed the Ippon in 33 seconds to end the contest and take the bronze medal within the blink of an eye. Kapil's triumph marked India's 25th medal at the ongoing edition of the Paralympics.
Kapil entered the bronze medal clash after enduring a 0-10 defeat against Iran's Banitaba Khorram Abadi in the semi-finals earlier on Thursday.
Praveen Kumar secured gold medal for the country at the ongoing Paris Paralympics in the men's high jump T64 final on Friday.
In the medal round, Praveen performed a record-breaking jump of 2.08 metres. With this jump, he has established an all-new Asian record.
At the second and third spots were the USA's Derek Loccident (2.06 m) and Uzbekistan's Temurbek Giyazov (2.03 m) respectively. Derek broke the Paralympic record by Japan's Toru Suzuki from 2021 (1.88 m) while the Uzbekistan's Giyazov recorded a personal best jump.
With this medal, India's medal tally in the ongoing Paralympics has gone up to 26, with six gold medals, nine silver medals and 11 bronze medals. This is the most gold India has ever won at a Paralympics Games event, outdoing the total of five gold in Tokyo 2020.
Indian para-athletes in particular have made the country proud with three golds, six silver and five bronze medals, giving them a total of 14 medals.
This year, India has sent its largest Paralympics contingent ever, comprising 84 athletes across 12 sports, a testament to the country's expanding para-sports ecosystem. India's participation in the Paris 2024 Paralympics marks not only a significant increase in numbers but also in medal hopes, as the nation aims to surpass its previous achievements in Tokyo.
Tokyo 2020 was previously India's most successful Paralympic Games, with the country winning 19 medals, including five golds, eight silver and six bronzes.
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