95 officials to accompany 84 Paris Paralympics participants to look after their 'special needs'

New Delhi: The 84-member Indian contingent taking part in the Paris Paralympics beginning on August 28 will be accompanied by 95 officials as many participants will have their personal coaches and escorts travelling with them to take care of their special needs.

The total strength of the Indian contingent will thus have 179 members.

Out of the 95, as many as 77 are team officials, nine are contingent medical officials and another nine contingent officials.

India is sending the largest number of participants in the Paris Paralympics (August 28 to September 8) with 84 athletes competing in 12 sports. In the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021, India was represented by 54 members in nine sports.

"Considering the special needs of some para athletes, personal coaches have been included in the contingent. However, they will provide necessary services to other players as per the directions of the Chef de Mission/team head coach," the ministry said while clearing the contingent.

"The participation of the entire contingent (including sportspersons, contingent officials, coaches) except that of Chef de Mission and one team manager for para badminton will be at cost to government." The likes of javelin thrower Sumit Antil and shooter Avani Lekhara, who would be looking to defend their Tokyo Paralympics gold, are among those who will be having personal coaches.

"In any para sports event, the participants need more support staff like personal coaches and escorts than able-bodied competitors. So, it is nothing new to have more support staff in para sports," a team official said.

The para-athletics team, which is the largest with 38 competitors, also has most number of personal coaches and escorts.

All the members of the contingent except for the CDM and team manager for the para badminton team will get USD 50 per day out of pocket allowance "as per required and actual period of stay during the Games which will be inclusive of acclimatisation and training period plus 2 days to and fro journey time".

Some of the officials will be staying outside the Games Village.

Paralympic Committee of India president Devendra Jhajharia, who left for Paris on Sunday with a large contingent, including CDM Satya Prakash Sangwan, told PTI on Saturday that he will be staying outside the Games Village "to look after all the athletes" as some will be competing outside Paris.

Jhajharia had said that India would be looking to win more than 25 medals, including double-digit gold, at the Paris Paralympics.

India had won 19 medals (5 gold, 8 silver, 6 bronze) at the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021, which is the highest ever till now.