Paris: Kapil Parmar made history on Thursday, by winning India’s landmark 25th medal at the 2024 Paris Paralympics. Parmar defeated Brazil’s Elielton de Oliveira to win the bronze medal in the men’s judo 60 kg J1 category. He became the first-ever Indian to win a Paralympic medal in Judo.
#ParaJudoš„: Men’s J1 – 60 Kg #Bronze Medalš„ Match #ParisParalympics2024š«š· debutant Kapil Parmar clinches a historic #Bronzeš„, beating Brazil’sš§š· Elielton de Oliveira 10-0 via an Ippon.
It is also a first-ever medalš for Indiaš®š³ in #ParaJudo in the history ofā¦ pic.twitter.com/25xhp8eM7K
ā SAI Media (@Media_SAI) September 5, 2024
Kapil Parmarās journey to this achievement has been extraordinary. In 2009, at just nine years old, he suffered a life-altering accident when he received an electric shock while fetching water, leading to severe damage to his vision.
Despite significant challenges, Parmar entered the world of Judo in 2017 after discovering the blind judo category. He won gold at the national championships in 2018 and later at the 2019 Commonwealth Championship in Birmingham.
In 2023, Parmar’s career reached new heights with a gold medal at the IBSA Judo Grand Prix in Alexandria and a bronze in the World Championship. He also earned a silver at the Hangzhou Para Games last year.
The Indian contingent has now added 25 medals to its growing tally (five gold, nine silver, and eleven bronze) and will have an opportunity to further extend its record medal haul in a single edition of the Paralympics. In the Tokyo edition, India recorded its best-ever medal haul with a tally of 19, including five gold, eight silver and six bronze medals.
