Paris: The 17th Paralympic Games for the Disabled will begin with a bang in Paris today.
The Olympic Games, which are considered as the biggest sports series in the world, have recently concluded in a grand manner. Following that, the Paralympic series kicks off tonight in Paris with a bang. A total of 4,440 players from 180 countries will participate in this series.
In this series, a total of 84 men and women will be fielding on behalf of India. In the last 2020 Paralympic series, Indian team participated with 54 players and won a total of 19 medals and achieved 24th place. This time India is expected to win more medals than last year as India will participate in various events with 84 players/athletes.
A total of 6 players from Tamil Nadu are participating in the Indian team in this Paralympic series starting today. Out of that, 4 will participate in badminton and two will participate in athletics. Tamil Nadu player Mariyappan Thangavelu will compete in the high jump event on behalf of the Indian team.
Tamil Nadu players to compete in Paralympics:
Mariappan Thangavelu
He can be called the medal hero of the Paralympics. He has previously won a gold medal in high jump at the 2016 Rio Olympics. After that, he also won a silver medal in the high jump event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Due to this, he is expected to win a hat-trick medal this time.
Tulsimati Murugesan
He has not won a medal in the Paralympics before, and will be competing in the men’s badminton category. However, he participated in the Asian Paralympic series and won gold, silver and bronze medals. He is expected to win a medal this time.
Manisha Ramadoss
Manisha is another player who will be playing in the elite badminton category. He has won the gold medal in the World Badminton Championship in 2022 and the outdoor medal this year. Thus, he is seen as the main player to win a medal in this Paralympic series.
Nitya Sri Shiva
Makleer is the 3rd player to play for Tamil Nadu in Badminton category. He has yet to win a medal in the Paralympics. However, in 2022, he has won bronze medal twice in the Asian Para Series of Badminton.
Sivarajan Oasis
A player representing Tamil Nadu in the men’s badminton singles and mixed doubles category. He won silver in mixed doubles at the 2023 Asian Para Games. Later in the same year, Nitya teamed up with Sree Sivan to win the mixed doubles gold medal at the Para-Badminton International held in Brazil.
Kasthuri Rajamani
Kasthuri Rajamani is representing Tamil Nadu in the women’s 67 kg weight category in power lifting at this Paralympics. He also participated and played in the 2022 Asian Para Games held in China. Even though he has not won any medal yet, there are expectations on him.
