5 Paralympians from South India who can win gold in Tokyo

Paralympics 2021 is all set to begin in less than a week. India is sending its largest-ever contingent of 54 para-athletes to the event in Tokyo. Team India will be competing in 9 different sporting events scheduled between August 24 - September 5. The first bunch of para-athletes will be taking off for Tokyo today.

Senior @Media_SAI & @IndiaSports Officers & PCI President @DeepaAthlete gave a send off to the first batch of #Paralympics athletes including #TeamIndia Flag-bearer @189thangavelu; @VinodMa23797758 & @MahlawatTek at Delhi IGI Airport! #Tokyo2020 ready to welcome our athletes!!🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/uEuj5KvLkn

— Paralympic India 🇮🇳 #Cheer4India 🏅 #Praise4Para (@ParalympicIndia) August 17, 2021

Mariyappan Thangavelu from Tamil Nadu won India the gold medal in high jump in 2016. He will once again set out for the Games, gunning for the gold medal. However, there are a few more athletes from the southern part of the country that can win India a gold medal at the Paralympics. Let's look at 5 such para-athletes from South India that can win a gold medal at the Paralympics.

Paralympics 2021: Meet the 5 para-athletes from South India who can win a medal at the event in Tokyo

# 5 Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj - Badminton

Suhas Yathiraj is one of the top para-shuttlers in the country. The IAS officer is the first Indian bureaucrat to win a professional Badminton Championship. Suhas has a stacked resume with several BWF titles to his name. He will compete in the singles SL4 event at the Paralympics and will be hoping to win India its first medal in badminton.

# 4 Sakina Khatun - Powerlifting

Sakina Khatun first came into the limelight when she won the bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games in 2014. The Karnataka resident continued her brilliance as she bettered her performance with a silver medal at the Asian Para Games in 2018.

Sakina is the only Indian female para-athlete to win a medal at the Commonwealth games. She was granted a bi-partitie invitation to the games earlier this year. Her journey to the top is definitely a motivation for women in the country. She will be looking to bag a medal in powerlifting and cement her place as one of the best women-para athletes in India.

First batch of athletes leave for #Tokyo2020 #Paralympics with befitting fanfare! Its time now to support #TeamIndia, watch the @Paralympics from 24th August to 5th September! #Cheer4India #Praise4Para 🇮🇳@DeepaAthlete @Media_SAI @IndiaSports @189thangavelu @VinodMa23797758 @ANI pic.twitter.com/pCTJJMBy9k

— Paralympic India 🇮🇳 #Cheer4India 🏅 #Praise4Para (@ParalympicIndia) August 17, 2021

# 3 Niranjan Mukundan - 50 m butterfly S7

Niranjan Mukundan hails from the state of Karnataka. He is considered to be one of India's best para-swimmers in India. The swimmer has won over 50 medals in his career and has swept through the national circuits. The Bangalore resident grabbed headlines for the first time in 2015 when he won the Junior World Championship. A year before that Mukundan won 8 medals at the 2014 IWAS World Junior Games in the UK.

He was granted a place at the Paralympics by the bi-partite invitation . His preparations for the Games were halted after he got infected with COVID-19. However, since the training facilities slowly opened up, the 26-year-old ramped up his preparations. The first medal won by India at the Paralympics was in 1972. However, since then the sport has not yielded any medalists at the para-games. Niranjan will be determined to bag the medal and end the 49-year long wait.

# 2 Sidhrata Babu [Rifle shooting R3, R6 event]

Sidharta Babu will feature in mixed rifle shooting events at the Paralympics. The 42-year-old was a martial arts enthusiast, but he at the age of 19 he met with an accident that paralyzed him. He then decided to shift to shooting, and there has been no looking back for the Thiruvanathapuram resident from there.

Babu qualified for the Paralympics after securing a quota place for the event at the 2019 Sydney World Championship. His preparations for the Para-Games have been great, the Kerala rifle shooter won a bronze medal at the 2021 Al Ain Para-Shooting World Cup. If he emulates the same brilliance, he can definitely win India its first-ever medal in shooting at the Paralympics.

# 1 Mariyappan Thangavelu [High Jump]

Mariyappan Thangavelu etched his name in the history books after he won the gold medal at the Para-Games in Rio. The 26-year-old will once again set out for the Games in hopes of bagging a second straight Para gold medal for India. Mariyappan hails from the Salem district in Tamil Nadu and will lead the Indian contingent as the flagbearer during the opening ceremony on August 24.

The Rio gold medalist secured his place by bagging a bronze at the World Championships in 2019. Mariyappan's ability to pull off big jumps during clutch situations makes him one of the favorites to finish at the top of the podium in Tokyo. Speaking about his chances in one of the interviews, Mariyappan said:

"Not many believed I would go and win a medal in the 2016 Paralympics. But that's not the case now, as everyone expects a medal from me. The aim is to return with nothing but gold."