Paralympics scorecard: India ends on a historic note

Written by: Aarthi Ramnath, Aakriti Anand & Raghav Bikhchandani

Paralympics scorecard: India ends on a historic note

Our best-ever showing in Paralympic history has ended with 29 medals. We ended up at #18 in the overall table—a big jump from 19 medals and #24 in Tokyo. The official tournament website has more on the winners and the medal count—seven gold, nine silver and 13 bronze.

Navdeep’s fruity first: He narrowly missed out on a medal in Tokyo, but javelin thrower Navdeep Singh put the past to rest on Saturday with some excellent throws, including a Paralympics record, in the F41 category—which denotes para athletes of a short stature. He was originally awarded the silver medal but was upgraded to gold after Iran’s Sadegh Beit Sayah was disqualified for violating the code of conduct on flags. You can check out one of Navdeep’s throws below but fair warning, it features some fruity language—he is a Haryana boy, after all! (Indian Express)

Praveen leaps to gold: He already has a silver to his name from Tokyo, and now Praveen Kumar has gone one better in high jump T64—which denotes para athletes with deficiencies in their legs. He leaped to the top by clearing 2.07 metres, a personal best and an Asian record. Indian Express has more on how his primary target was a new personal best, rather than a medal. You can see a snippet from his performance below.

Hokato channels Neeraj: With a personal best of 14.65 metres, Hokato Hotozhe Sema bagged bronze in the shot put F57 class—meant for para athletes who throw when seated, due to one or both legs not functioning. Hailing from Nagaland, Hokato is an army soldier who had to have his left leg amputated after being wounded in a landmine blast in 2002. His sporting inspiration? Neeraj Chopra, of course. Check out highlights of his third-place performance below. (ESPN India)

Simran’s 200-metre third: Last but not least, we come to visually impaired runner Simran, who took home bronze in the 200-metre T12 event with her designated guide Abhay Singh. You can see a lovely photo of the two with their medals below.

A sparkling goodbye: Sunday’s closing ceremony featured Paris 2024’s dancing mascots—the Phryges—covered in sequins. Check them out below.

We were also treated to an energetic performance led by 76-year-old French composer and electronic music extraordinaire Jean-Michel Jarre. Watch it below.

Goa green zones: Going, going, gone!

According to an Indian Express investigation, state authorities have been quietly converting “green zones” into “settlements”—over the past 18 months. Once land has been classified as a settlement, the owner can build villas, hotels, or offices. And it becomes a whole lot more expensive. Example:

In Anjuna, for instance, a 1,900 sq m plot earmarked as an orchard under the Regional Plan 2021 was purchased for Rs 74 lakh in December 2022. Once it was converted to settlement, in June 2023, the plot was sold for Rs 6.8 crore to a builder.

As a result, it will be open season on 2 million sq metres that include paddy fields, orchards and other no-development zones.

The rule change: allows any owner to approach the state authority with a request to “correct inadvertent errors” or “rectify inconsistent/incoherent zoning.” But there is no definition or scrutiny of what such errors may be.

The biggest beneficiaries: are two state ministers—Vishwajit Rane and Aleixo Sequeira. Here’s the kicker: Sequiera’s portfolios include Environment and Law—while Rane is in charge of the Forest Ministry and Town and Country Planning—which approves changes in land use. Read this Indian Express (paywalled) report for more on who profited from this scam. This other article explains the scam in greater detail—but is paywalled.

Speaking of shady sarkari biz: The union government has quietly dismantled a 14-member Standing Committee on Statistics—headed by eminent economist and former chief statistician Pronab Sen. The reason: The committee kept badgering the government about the national census—which was to be conducted for 2021. It was first delayed due to the pandemic—but the government has been dragging its feet ever since. Why this matters: The government is relying on 2011 data—which is 13 years old—to make policy. (The Hindu)

China bans international adoptions

The population problem: Back in 1979, China launched its brutal one-child policy—punishing anyone who dared to have a second baby. It forced many parents to abandon their children—who were most often girls. By 1990, Beijing found a new solution for these ‘extra’ kids—forcing them into state orphanages instead. In 1992, it unveiled a new policy allowing foreigners to legally adopt these kids. At least 150,000 such adoptions took place between 1992 and 2022.

What happened next: In 2016, Beijing scrapped the one-child policy—because of sharply declining birth rates. Data point to note: The birthrate in 2023 was the lowest ever recorded at 6.39 births per 1,000 people, down from a rate of 6.77 births in 2022. Since then, it’s been badgering citizens to have up to three kids—for the good of the nation, of course.

What happened now: The government has changed its mind on adoption, as well. But in recent years, Beijing has been steadily tightening the rules—making adoptions near impossible. And now has banned them entirely. One key reason is the birth rate, of course. But many nations are also becoming more concerned about trafficking. Many have banned foreign parent adoptions—including Ethiopia, Denmark, and Norway. (Wall Street Journal, paywall, BBC News)

Two health stories of note

Bad news about dogs: Contrary to all those ‘scientific’ studies—and wellness guides—pets do absolutely nothing to improve your mental health. A UK study of pet owners during the pandemic showed that they “experienced slightly higher levels of depression, anxiety, and anhedonia (loss of pleasure).” Also this:

The team found that while dog owners really were more likely to engage in daily exercise — 40% among those owning a dog compared to 35% in those not — the increased activity did not correlate with better mental health outcomes. Further, no significant difference was found in the study between dog owners and non-owners with regards to maintaining a daily routine.

The silver lining: Lonely cat ladies are a myth. Women are more likely to own cats than men—but they aren’t any lonelier or depressed than them. Our take: It’s a single study conducted in a single country. (The Telegraph)

The origins of Parkinson’s: According to a new JAMA study, the disease may actually originate in the gut—rather than the brain. People who have a history of ulcers or other gastro-intestinal issues are more likely to develop Parkinson’s later in life. In fact, digestive problems are common among patients:

In Parkinson’s disease, the entire gastrointestinal tract is affected, causing complications such as constipation, drooling, trouble swallowing and delayed emptying of the stomach. These symptoms often appear up to two decades before motor symptoms such as rigidity or tremor.

Damage to the mucosal lining, like erosion or sores or ears, can lead to a 76% greater chance of developing Parkinson’s later in life. (Washington Post, paywall, Times of India)

what caught our eye

business & tech

YouTube is making new tools to protect creators from AI copycats.
The advertiser exodus from Elon Musk’s X is set to continue and tank the revenue even further in 2025.
OpenAI and ChatGPT hit a new milestone—one million paid business users and rising.
Selena Gomez has joined the ‘three comma’ club, with a net worth of $1.3 billion.
New York City Fashion Week is back! Quartz looks at why the once iconic event has lost its shine.

sports & entertainment

Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka and Italy’s Jannik Sinner are the new US Open singles’ champions!
Bengali filmmaker Arindam Sil has been suspended by the Directors' Association of Eastern India (DAEI) following a complaint of sexual misconduct.
The Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) has proposed a cinema code of conduct for the Malayalam film industry. Check out our Big Story for more on Mollywood’s MeToo moment.
Get hyped for…Fyre Festival 2?!?!?! Yes, the disastrous music festival is getting another go with fraudster Billy McFarland back in charge. “It has to work”, he says.

as for the rest

India reported its first case of MPox in six months and said the patient is in stable condition, without clarifying where they are located.
The latest New York Times/Siena College presidential poll puts Kamala Harris and Donald Trump neck and neck, ahead of their debate slated for Tuesday. Meanwhile, the latest Zoom call in support of Harris was…‘Paisans for Kamala’, featuring Robert de Niro and other Italian-American celebs.
Edmundo González—Venezuela’s opposition candidate—has fled the country on a Spanish Air Force plane.
Japan’s Prince Hisahito has turned 18, becoming the first male member of the country’s royal family to become a legal adult since 1985.
Gizmodo has a must-read on how electrocuted birds are bursting into flames and starting wildfires in the US state of Colorado.
Hitting the snooze button may be better for your heart health than waking up abruptly, a new study suggests.
When trans men take testosterone therapy as part of gender-affirming care, it isn’t just their bodies that start to resemble cis men more—their immune systems do too, per a new study.
New research has found that cognitive behavioural therapy can cause lasting changes in how our brains function—when matched with the right patients.
According to a new study, mosquitoes are using infrared sensors to hunt you down.

Five things to see

One: Uttarakhand residents in Rudraprayag have put up signs that read: "Non-Hindus, Rohingya Muslims and hawkers are prohibited to do business and roam around in the village. If found anywhere in the village, punitive action will be taken." Even worse: these people proudly posing with the board. Mint has more.

Two: The winners of the iPhone Photography Awards 2024 have been revealed. This was the Grand Prize winner—titled 'Boy Meets Shark' by Erin Brooks:

Also fun, ‘George Loves Chippies’ lol! You can see the others here.

Three: Speaking of stunning art, check out the travelling exhibit of 100 life-sized elephant sculptures—titled ‘The Great Elephant Migration’. It started in the Nilgiris—and is now in New York on a 13-month US tour. ABC News has lots more details.

Four: The trailer for Alia Bhatt’s much-awaited ‘Jigra’ is finally out. You’ll likely recognise the soundtrack: a sappy version of ‘Phoolon Ka Taron Ka’ from ‘Hare Rama Hare Krishna’. The film drops in theatres on October 11. (The Hindu)

Five: ‘Superboys Of Malegaon’—is inspired by a 2008 documentary about a small town that came together to make spoofs of Bollywood films. This feel-good film is directed by Reema Kagti and stars Adarsh Gourav, Vineet Kumar Singh, and Shashank Arora. It will premiere at TIFF on September 13 and is slated for release in January 2025. (Indian Express)