Indian para-athletes eye 12 medals at Paralympics

Eyeing an unprecedented five gold and a dozen medals in total, the first batch of the Indian athletics team, including star javelin thrower Sumit Antil, left for the Paris Paralympics in advance to get acclimatized to the conditions.

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The 16 para athletes will stay at hotels in Paris for a few days before entering the Games Village on August 25, three days before the Opening Ceremony.

The likes of Antil, who is bidding to become the first Indian to defend his Paralympics gold, will train at facilities near the French capital to acclimatise with the weather conditions there.

Para athletics events will be held from August 30 to September 8, the closing day of the Paralympics, at Stade de France, the same venue where the ablebodied athletes competed during the Paris Olympics.