New Delhi, Nov 8 (UNI) India have named a 111-member contingent for the upcoming Deaflympics scheduled to take place in Tokyo, Japan from November 15 to December 26.
The contingent consists of 73 athletes and 38 coaches among others. This is the biggest ever Indian contingent at the Deaflympics.
The union sports ministry has approved the contingent at cost-to-government basis. India will take part in 11 disciplines- Athletics, Badminton, Golf, Judo, Karate, Shooting, Swimming, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Wrestling and Tennis.
The Deaflympics are conducted by the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (ICSD). The Deaflympics, under the patronage of the IOC, are the second oldest international multi-sporting event in the world.
The ICSD members now include affiliated national sports organisations from 117 different countries.
India have been participating in the International Deaf Games since 1965. Seven male athletes and five officials took part in India’s maiden appearance in Washington. In 1985, three female athletes took part for the first time. In the last Deaflympics 2021 held in Caxias Do Sul in Brazil in May 2022, India were represented by 39 male and 26 female athletes. India won a best-ever 16.
Overall, India have won 26 gold medals, 9 silver and 17 bronze. In the last Summer Games in Brazil where India had sent 65 athletes to compete in 11 sports, some standout performances were achieved. In badminton, Jerlin Jayaratchagan won three gold medals. Dhanush Srikanth won two gold medals, setting a new world record in the 10m air rifle shooting event with a score of 247.5. And in tennis Prithvi Sekhar won three medals. In wrestling, Virender Singh secured his fifth consecutive Deaflympics medal, a bronze. Tokyo Olympian golfer Diksha Dagar claimed silver.
India’s previous best came at Sofia 1993 when they bagged seven medals, including five gold and two bronze. India also won seven medals each at Copenhagen 1997 (3 gold, 3 silvers, 1 bronze) and at Melbourne 2005 (3 golds, 1 silver, 3 bronze).
