Paris Paralympics 2024 Para-Athletics: Simran Sharma clinches bronze in women’s 200m T12 event

Indian para-sprinter Simran Sharma bagged a bronze medal in the final round of the Paris Paralympics 2024 para-athletics women’s 200m T12 event on Saturday. The 24-year-old visually challenged para-sprinter Simran Sharma, who hails from Ghaziabad, finished third in the final round, registering a personal best timing of 24.75s.

In the extremely competitive Paris Paralympics 2024 para-athletics women’s 200m T12 event final round, world record holder Omara Durand Elias of Cuba clinched the gold medal with a season’s best timing of 23.62s.

Tokyo 2020 bronze medalist Alejandra Paola Perez Lopez of Venezuela clinched a silver medal on Saturday, finishing second with a personal best timing of 24.19s.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Hajar Safarzadeh Ghahderijani, who won gold medals in the 2022 Asian Para Games in Hangzhou and the 2024 World Championships in Kobe, finished last with a personal best timing of 24.91s.

Simran’s bronze medal in Saturday’s event was India’s 29th medal in the ongoing event, which places it 15th in the overall medal tally. This is India’s best-ever performance in the Paralympic Games, eclipsing the performance in Tokyo 2020 where the Indian para-athletes clinched 19 medals.

The result will also be a personal achievement for Simran Sharma, as she massively improved upon her result from the Tokyo Paralympics 2020, where she finished 11th in the 100m T13 event with a timing of 12.69s.

Simran Sharma has performed admirably throughout the Paris Paralympics 2024 para-athletics women’s 200m T12 event. She finished at the top of her heat in the opening round with a timing of 25.41s, securing automatic qualification to the semi-final.

In the ensuing semi-final bout, she again topped her heat, registering a better 25.03s. She continued her improvement in the final round as well, which resulted in her clinching her first Paralympic Games medal.

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Paris Paralympics 2024 Para-Athletics Women’s 200m T12 final

1. Omara Durand Elias (Cuba) – 23.62
2. Alejandra Paola Perez Lopez (Venezuela) – 24.19
3. Simran (India) – 24.75
4. Hajar Safarzadeh Ghahderijani (Islamic Republic of Iran) – 24.91