Paris 2024: Azerbaijani paralympians clinch 11 medals

The Azerbaijani team has successfully represented the country at 2024 Paris Summer Paralympic Games, earning a total of 11 medals, including 4 gold, 2 silver, and 5 bronze, Azernews reports.

This impressive performance propelled them to the 28th place overall in the overall standings.

In athletics, Azerbaijani athletes won 3 gold and 1 silver medals, while in swimming, they secured 1 silver and 3 bronze medals. Judo and taekwondo also saw Azerbaijani athletes claiming bronze medals.

Para-athlete Lamiya Valiyeva won gold and silver medals in the 100 and 400 m races.

Orkhan Aslanov, a two-time Paralympic champion in the long jump, continued his impressive form, while swimmer Roman Saleh added three more medals to his collection, bringing his total to 7 Paralympic medals.

Ilham Zakiyev, a legendary judoka who won his first gold medal in Athens-2004, added another bronze medal to his collection, while Said Najafzade improved his performance in the long jump to become the Paralympic champion. Vali Israfilov, who won gold at Tokyo 2020, settled for bronze this time around.

In taekwondo, Imadaddin Khalilov and Sabir Zeynalov made their Paralympic debuts by claiming gold and bronze medals respectively. Khalilov's gold medal was a historic first for Azerbaijan in the sport.

The Azerbaijani Paralympic team has made significant progress since the Tokyo 2020 Games, where they won 14 medals including 4 gold, 4 silver, and 6 bronze.

Notable athletes, including Olympic gold medalists Lamiya Valiyeva and Said Najafzade, proudly represented their country by waving its national flag during the official country parade at the closing ceremony of the Summer Paralympic Games.

The Paris 2024 Summer Paralympic Games brought together 4,000 athletes from around the world.

The event marked the first time Paris hosted the Summer Paralympics and the second time that France has hosted the Paralympic Games, after Tignes and Albertville jointly hosted the 1992 Winter Paralympics.