India's Paralympians managed to be all these and much 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.
The duo's performance was like icing on the cake for the contingent which found new heroes, celebrated some established ones, and brought para-sports firmly into the spotlight in India.
In all, 54 came to Tokyo and 19 of them left with medals around their necks.
To put things in perspective, at the 2016 Rio Games, India had 19 athletes across five disciplines with four returning with medals in the end.
