Paralympics star Avani Lekhara 1st woman para-athlete to lead India at closing ceremony

The Tokyo Paralympics 2020 concluded on Sunday with some epic performances of athletes from all around the world. For Team India, the Tokyo Paralympics turned out to be historic as its athletes won 19 medals, including five gold that helped them sign off 24th in the overall tally - the highest ever. Tokyo Paralympics closing ceremony was headed by none other than the 19-year-old shooter Avani Lekhara, who won both gold and bronze medals in the mega-sporting event. 

PCI President Deepa Malik took to her Twitter handle and shared a video of Avani Lekhara leading Team India's contingent as the flag-bearer in the Tokyo Paralympics closing ceremony. Deepa Malik also shared that Avani Lekhara is the first Indian woman who marched with the Tricolour at the Tokyo Paralympics.  

Tokyo Paralympics closing ceremony

The Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games took place between August 24 and September 5 and it featured 539 medal events across 22 sports. A total of 54 para-athletes from India across nine sports disciplines were featured in the Paralympic Games.

The Closing Ceremony saw a total of 11 members of the Indian contingent in attendance. The concepts underlying the Closing Ceremony were "Harmonious Cacophony" and "Moving Forward". The idea was to convey that Tokyo is "A City Where Differences Shine". The Closing Ceremony began with the story of a young boy who after witnessing the Paralympic Games began to feel the Paralympics effect.

Team India finished their campaign at the Tokyo Paralympic at an all-time high by securing a total of 19 medals which includes 5 gold, 8 silver, and 6 bronze medals. India sent its biggest ever contingent of 54 para-athletes across as many as 9 sporting disciplines at the Games. Badminton and Taekwondo made their debut in Tokyo, both of which were represented by India.

Since making its first appearance at the Paralympics in 1968, India had won 12 medals in total till the 2016 Rio edition. The country has now massively improved upon that entire number by 7 medals at the Tokyo Paralympics 2020 alone. Out of a total of 162 nations, India have finished 24th in the overall medal tally, while its accomplishment of 19 medals is ranked 20th based on the number of medals.

The Indian Paralympics contingent after returning from Tokyo will meet Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur on September 8, followed by a meeting with PM Modi on September 9.

(Image Credits: @DeepaAthlete/Twitter/PTI)

(Inputs: ANI)