Deepa expects rich haul from Indians

New Delhi, Aug. 23: Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) chief Deepa Malik is expecting the country’s para-athletes to create history by recording its best-ever performance at the Tokyo Games beginning Tuesday.

India will field its biggest contingent with 54 athletes set to compete in nine sports — archery, athletics, badminton, canoeing, shooting, swimming, powerlifting, table tennis and taekwondo.

“Absolutely, my expectations have already gone beyond what I was expecting. This year, India is sending the largest-ever contingent. I am very hopeful that we are going to create history,” Malik said when asked if she is expecting the best-ever display.

“It’s a contingent which is three times bigger in number, we have added four more sports in the past 4-5 years of gap between 2016-21.

“Almost two years have gone in the pandemic but despite that it’s a huge leap in the number of athletes

India will field its biggest contingent with 54 athletes set to compete in nine sports in Tokyo.

qualifying,” Malik said during a virtual press conference to launch a joint campaign with Coca Colaowned homegrown beverage brand Thums Up.

The first woman from India to win a Paralympic medal, Malik said the statistics are looking bright for the Indian contingent.

“It is not just qualification it is also acquiring the quota on the basis of world ranking. The statistics are looking very bright, athletes have done pretty well in the selection trials and the kind of current world rankings they are holding look very promising.

“Because the number of participation and the number of sports has increased, we have top ranking athletes, that gives us a very good indication that it’s going to be great Paralympics for Indian history.”