Inspirational, incredible and indomitable. India’s paralympians managed to be all these and more in an epoch-making campaign at the Tokyo Games, where an unparalleled 19 medals, including five gold, helped them sign off 24th in the overall tally—the highest ever. The tally also included eight silver and six bronze medals.

Even on the last day of competitions, the medal rush did not stop and Krishna Nagar won a gold after Noida’s District Magistrate Suhas Yathiraj signed off his brilliant run with a silver to complete a remarkable badminton show. In all, 54 Indian athletes came to Tokyo and 17 of them left with medals around their necks. It was an improved performance no doubt, but calling it just improvement would be an understatement given that India’s overall Games haul was a mere 12 before this edition.