India will be sending a contingent of as many as 54 athletes competing in nine sports at the Tokyo Paralympics 2020. This is the biggest-ever contingent India has sent to any Paralympics. India’s contingent for Tokyo Paralympics is nearly thrice as large as that of Rio 2016. All 54 athletes are a part of the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) as per the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
The Tokyo Paralympics Opening Ceremony will take place on Tuesday, August 24, with Rio Olympics gold medalist high jumper Mariyappan Thangavelu named the flag bearer. Only six officials from the Indian contingent are allowed to take part in the opening ceremony of Tokyo Paralympics on Tuesday, chef de mission Gursharan Singh said on Sunday. India will thus have 11 members participating in the opening ceremony, the remaining five being athletes. Bhavina Patel and Sonalben Patel will participate in the Para Table Tennis Women’s singles Wheelchair Class 4 and the Women’s singles Wheelchair Class 3 categories, respectively. They will also be taking part in the Women’s doubles event as they pair up together. Aruna Tanwar will be the sole Para-Taekwondo representative at the Paralympic Games from India in Tokyo. She will be participating in the women’s under 49 kg K44 category. The Paralympic Games for 2020, postponed like the Olympics were, will officially begin on August 24. Tokyo will be the first city to host the Paralympics twice, with the tournament’s first edition held in Rome in 1960 followed by Tokyo in 1964. Paralympics and Olympics have been held together in the same city each time since the Seoul 1988 Games.
