There was no stopping India's inspired run at the Paralympic Games, as javelin thrower Navdeep Singh won an unparalleled gold in the F41 classification and visually impaired sprinter Simran clinched the women's 200 metres (T12) bronze in Paris on Saturday.
Navdeep, who competes in the classification meant for athletes of short stature, originally ended up with a silver after he upstaged World record holder Sun Pengxiang of China with a 47.32 metres throw.
However, the result was upgraded to an unprecedented gold after Iran's Sadegh Beit Sayah was disqualified for repeatedly displaying an objectionable flag.
Pengxiang (44.72m) finished with a silver.
Sayah nosed ahead of the field with a new Paralympic record of 47.64m in his penultimate throw but lost the medal because of his antics.
The International Paralympic Committee rules bar athletes from making any political gestures at the event and Sayah was struck out of the final results for unsporting/improper conduct.
At the same venue, Simran, accompanied by her guide Abhay Singh, clocked an impressive personal best of 24.75sec to finish with a bronze in the women's 200m (T12) runs.
The 24-year-old from Delhi, who was found to be visually impaired at the time of her premature birth, is the reigning World champion in the event. She finished fourth in the 100m run of the ongoing Games and Saturday's medal helped her redeem her campaign.
The duo's performance on the penultimate day of the competition lifted India's tally to 29, which includes seven gold, nine silver and 13 bronze.
Track-and-field has contributed 17 medals to India’s tally, four of them gold. The country is placed 15th in the overall standings, led by China who have a whopping 208 medals, including 90 gold.
For Navdeep, the gold makes up for the fourth-place heartbreak he endured in the Tokyo Games.
An inspector in the Income Tax Department, Navdeep has won medals five times at the national level since taking to the sport in 2017. He won a bronze in the Para-World Championships earlier this year.
Simran, on the other hand, won two silver medals at the Asian Para Games in Hangzhou last year and secured three gold medals in the 100m, 200m and long jump at the inaugural Khelo India Para Games last December.
She is coached by her husband, Naik Gajendra Singh.
Dilip finishes last in men's 400m T47 final
Dilip Gavit Mahadu signed off his campaign in the track and field competition with a disappointing eighth place finish in men's 400 metres T47 final.
The 21-year-old from Maharashtra, who won a gold medal at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Para Games, clocked 49.99 seconds while finishing last in the eight-man final.
In Round 1, Dilip finished third in his heat and reached the final.
Dilip's right arm is amputated from below the elbow, making him eligible to compete in classification T46, which is for track and field athletes who have a single amputation above or below the elbow.
Canoer Prachi Yadav finishes 8th
India’s canoe sprinter Prachi Yadav finished eighth in women's VL2 200m final.
The 29-year-old made the final after placing third in the semis.
The VL2 classification is for para-athletes with partial leg and trunk function who can sit up straight but may require a high-backed seat.
Para-cyclists disappoint
Arshad Shaik and Jyoti Gaderiya wrapped up their Paris Paralympics journey without a medal, finishing the men's and women's road race C1-3 events a lap behind the leaders.
In the women's race, Gaderiya finished 15th. Japan's Keiko Sugiura won gold, Flurina Rigling of Switzerland silver and Clara Brown of the United States bronze.
In the men's race, Shaik finished 28th. Great Britain's Finlay Graham won the gold, while French riders Thomas Peyroton-Dartet and Alexandre Léauté took silver and bronze respectively.
Both Jyoti and Shaik had earlier struggled in the road Time Trial C2 event, finishing 16th and 11th respectively.
Swimmer Suyash fails to enter final
India's campaign in swimming ended when Suyash Jadhav failed to enter the final of the men's 50 metres butterfly S7.
Competing in Heat 1, the 30-year-old finished fifth with a timing of 33.47, a 10th-spot finish overall. The top four swimmers from the two heats make it to the final.
Jadhav is a gold medal winner in Asian Para Games, Winter Open Polish Championships and IWAS World Games.
The S7 category is for para swimmers with movement affected from a low to moderate level in arms, trunk and legs, moderately down one side, those with short stature, or the absence of limbs.
