Paris Paralympics 2024: Can India surpass Tokyo’s medal count? Or is it just a pipe dream?

As the 84-member Indian Paralympic squad, the largest-ever assembled, prepares to embark on their journey to Paris this weekend, the weight of expectation could practically be measured in tons. This monumental contingent will compete in the Games from August 28 to September 8, taking place at the same venues that hosted the Olympics - because, apparently, the Olympics weren't enough of a challenge, right or not?

The pressure to perform is nothing short of astronomical. After all, India's performance in Tokyo three years ago was nothing short of a miracle, with the country returning with a record 19 medals (five gold, eight silver, and six bronze).

Naturally, this unprecedented haul has set the bar so high that it is practically scraping the clouds. The Indian Paralympic hopefuls, including luminaries like javelin throw champion Sumit Antil, and Avani Lekhara, who became the first Indian woman to win a gold medal at the Paralympics, have become household names and the darlings of sports fans.

Antil and Bhagyashri Jadhav, a shot put prospect who has managed to squeeze into the spotlight, bore the honour of being India's flag bearers at the opening ceremony on Wednesday. This prestigious role was announced at a grand send-off ceremony hosted by the Union Ministry of Sports & Youth Affairs in New Delhi.

Antil, who won the javelin throw in the F64 category at the Para Athletics World Championships in May - setting a world record with a throw of 70.83 metres - is once again touted as the star of the show. Because clearly, winning a world record isn't enough, we need him to redefine the limits of human achievement. Neeraj Chopra 2.0 in making?

As for Bhagyashri, who managed to snatch a silver medal in the shot put F34 category at the 2022 Asian Para Games, she will hope to make up for her seventh-place finish in Tokyo. Her silver medal at the Para Athletics World Championships in May is expected to propel her to new heights in Paris. We can only assume that the medal podium has been reserved with her name on it, given the confidence brimming from the Indian camp.

The Tokyo medal tally was a dramatic departure from India's previous best performances, where they could barely scrape together four medals each at the Stoke Mandeville and New York Games in 1984 and Rio 2016. The shooting events, which generously contributed five medals, led the charge, with high jump and badminton trailing behind with four medals each.

Devendra Jhajharia, India's most decorated Paralympian, who added a silver in the men's javelin throw F46 class in Tokyo to his collection of two gold medals from Athens 2004 and Rio 2016, is now channelling his inner optimist as the new president of the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI). Confident about the upcoming Games, Jhajharia was quoted as saying: "We are very confident about the overall performance and are sure to win more than 25 medals". Because, of course, aiming for anything less would be an admission of mediocrity for us Indians.

With such monumental expectations and high stakes, the Indian squad begins action with the kind of pressure that only a record-breaking performance can alleviate.

The world will be watching, and anything less than a spectacular show will be considered a colossal disappointment.

The stage is set, the expectations are sky-high, and now, all that remains is for India to turn this immense pressure into gold medals - or, at the very least, a solid attempt at it.