It was a busy year for Indian para sports. 2022 saw many an accolade and a few national records come India’s way across the para sports spectrum. Here’s a recap of the best moments from the year gone by.
Sumit Antil breaks his own world record
Sumit Antil broke his world record in the F64 javelin throw at the fourth Indian Open National Para Athletics Championship 2022 in Bengaluru. He bettered his throw of 68.55m at the Tokyo Paralympics and won gold in the process throwing 68.62m in his third attempt. Earlier, Antil was honoured with the Padma Shri award and is one of the youngest sportspeople to receive the award.
Shooter Avani Lekhara sets world record
21-year-old para shooter Avani set a world record score of 250.6 in 10m air rifle in the Para World Cup in Chateauroux while claiming the gold medal in France. Avani also won the silver in air rifle in the Para World Cup in Changwon, South Korea. She had won gold and bronze in the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021.
Pramod Bhagat dominates SL3 men’s singles field
Pramod Bhagat - a Standing Lower 3 (SL3) category shuttler - enjoyed a stellar season in 2022. The Paralympics gold medallist won four titles in men’s singles and has been remarkably consistent throughout the season. Out of the nine tournaments he played, he emerged as the winner on four occasions. In the remaining five, he was runner-up in four events and semifinalist in another.
Pramod finished the season achieving an incredible feat: retaining the BWF Para-Badminton World Championships title. He beat compatriot Nitesh Kumar in straight games to get hold of the gold medal for the third time.
Manisha Ramadass clinches Worlds gold
Manisha Ramadass is a Side Upper 5 (SU5) category para shuttler. The 17-year-old has enjoyed a great run in 2022, winning four gold, including the Para-Badminton World Championships women’s singles title. She also won two silver and bronze medals. Due to her standout performance, Manisha was conferred the Female Para-Badminton Player of the Year award by BWF in December.
Starting the year with two back-to-back international titles in Spain and Brazil, she clinched the Dubai Para-Badminton International title in May. She was a runner-up at the Bahrain and Canada International tournaments.
Nishad Kumar finishes fifth in able-bodied competition
High jumper Nishad Kumar - a 2021 Paralympics silver medallist in the men’s T46-47 category - created a buzz at the 36th National Games when he took part in the able-bodied competition. Nishad finished fifth in a 14-man field with a jump of 2.14m, but it was enough for him to attain the second-best leap in the world. Nishad was just a centimetre short of the para-world record of 2.15m set by Roderick Townsend-Roberts.
Javelin thrower Ajeet Singh dazzles Africa
The 29-year-old is one of the top para javelin throwers in the country. He bagged a silver in the F38/46 category of the World Para-athletics Grand Prix in Tunis (Tunisia) and then bagged a gold with a personal best throw of 64.77m in the World Para Grand Prix (T47 category) in Marrakech, Morocco.
Jayanti Behera wins 200m, 400m gold in Portugal
The 23-year-old, hailing from a poor family in Odisha has been one of the finest para-athletes to emerge from the State. In the recent International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS) World Games held in Portugal in November this year, Jayanthi won gold in 200m & 400m and silver in 100m.
Jayanti won the award for the best woman para-athlete at the 20th National para-athletics championship in Bhubaneswar in March this year for winning three gold medals.
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