8 Gold, 1 silver, 7 bronze: The complete list of Indian medal winners from the 2021 Deaflympics

India’s largest contingent ever at a Deaflympics – 65 athletes – returned with the country’s richest haul from the event in Caxias do Sul, in southern Brazil.

A total of 16 medals were won over the fortnight-long quadrennial event, including eight gold, one silver and seven bronze. The medals came from five of the 11 sports the Indians were competing in, with the shooting team picking up the most – three gold and two bronze.

India finished in ninth position on the medal table.

In fact, it was the shooting contingent that first put India on the board when Dhanush Srikanth and Shourya Saini won gold and bronze respectively in the men’s 10m air rifle event.

The badminton squad got on the medal board on the same day, winning gold in the mixed team event after beating Japan in the final.

Explainer: India at Deaflympics – here’s what you need to know about the quadrennial event

There were medals won in tennis and golf. And on the final day of competitions, the wrestling contingent won three medals.

Veteran grappler Virender Singh Yadav – fondly dubbed ‘Ghooga Pehelwan’ – won his fifth consecutive medal at his fifth successive appearance at the Deaflympics, winning bronze this time in the 74kg event to add to the three golds and one bronze medals he had won before travelling to Brazil.

Jerlin Jayaratchagan was the most decorated competitor from India at this edition of the Games, winning three gold medals. She helped the badminton mixed team finish on top, then won gold in the women’s singles and mixed doubles event to earn three gold medals.

Tennis player Prithvi Sekhar too won three medals – a silver with Dhananjay Dubey in the men’s doubles, and two bronze medals in the men’s singles and mixed doubles event with Jafreen Shaik.

Here’s a look at all the Indian medallists at the 2021 Deaflympics: