Jhajharia confident of 25 medals' target despite Pramod Bhagat suspension

The shadow of Pramod Bhagat controversy wont linger on the Indian contingent and Paralympic Committee of India president Devendra Jhajharia is hopeful of winning at least 25 medals at the upcoming Paris Paralympics 2024India have an 84member contingent across 12 disciplines for the Paralympics slated in Paris from August 28September 8Tokyo Paralympics gold medalwinning shuttler Pramod Bhagat was handed an 18month suspension for breaching BWFs antidoping whereabouts clauseLook there is no doubt that Pramod Bhagat is our star athlete but the target of 25 medals that we have set is from our current contingent of 84 players Pramod Bhagat is not included in this the twotime Paralympics gold medalwinning javelin thrower Jhajharia told PTI BhashaPramod being a gold medal winner of the last Games not being in the Indian team is extremely sad and unfortunate but we cannot do anythingAsked about his confidence about target of 25 medals he said I have kept this target after closely monitoring our playersYou may think I am exaggerating But I have seen the practice sessions of players We have worked hard on their physical fitness and mental strengthBadmintons world governing body BWF had on Tuesday announced that Bhagat has been suspended for a period of 18 months and will miss the Paris Paralympics 2024On 1 March 2024 the Court of Arbitration of Sport AntiDoping Division found Bhagat in breach of the BWF antidoping regulations for committing three whereabouts failures within 12 monthsAlso ReadInjury is fine Neeraj Chopra confirms participation at Diamond LeagueThe fivetime para world champion Bhagat had appealed this decision to the CAS Appeals Division but it was rejected last monthJhajharia further said the number of players this time is much more than the previous games and they are competing in more sportsIndia were ranked 24th in the Tokyo Paralympics table with 19 medals which included five goldI have set a target of 25 medals and to be in the top 20 in the medal table but we will win more medals than this said the 43yearold former javelin throwerWe had 56 players in the Tokyo Paralympics this time 84 players will compete For the first time our players will participate in Blind Judo Para Sailing and Para CyclingJhajharia is expecting the highest medal haul from the athletics team and is hoping new stars to emerge from these gamesEach and every player of our contingent is a medal prospect We have 38 track and field athletes and I am expecting the most medals from themOur contingent has 47 new players despite their first Paralympics games they are very confident and mentally strong about their performance he concludedWith agency inputs