Can India’s Olympians Catch Up to Their Paralympic Peers?
Some athletes are excelling despite the odds, leaving fans questioning assumptions about sports culture and infrastructure.
On January 17, 2025, India honored four athletes with its top sports prize. From world chess champion D. Gukesh to double Olympic bronze medalist Manu Bhaker to Paralympic gold medalist Praveen Kumar, the celebrated figures arrived in the nation’s capital to receive the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award. And of the 32 athletes awarded the Arjuna, the second-highest sports awards, there was one group that formed the majority: 17 para-athletes, who had an astounding showing at the Paris Paralympics in 2024.
The awards ceremony reopened a grievous wound and a longstanding debate. How can India, a country of 1.4 billion people and now the world’s fifth-largest economy, finish the 2024 Paris Olympics with 117 athletes, six medals, but zero golds? And how — in contrast — did India’s Paralympic athletes win 29 medals, including seven golds? Does this suggest that India always had the potential to produce global sports stars? The answer might surprise you.