The 24th edition of 2021 Summer Deaflympics i.e. Caxias 2021, officially called the XXIV Summer Deaflympic Games, was an international multi-sport event held at Festa da Uva, Caxias do Sul, Brazil, from 1 May to 15 May 2022. The International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (ICSD) is the main governing body responsible for the organisation of Deaflympics and other World Deaf Championships.
- This is the first time the Games are being held in a Latin American country and not during the summer of the host city (as it is autumn in May in the south of Brazil) and the third time for the Games to be held in the Southern Hemisphere only after 1989 games held in Christchurch in New Zealand and 2005 games in Melbourne, Australia.
- India holds 9th position in 24th edition of 2021 Summer Deaflympics whereas Ukraine placed first position followed by USA and Iran.
- The event was opened by Michelle Bolsonaro, the First Lady of Brazil.
Motto of 2021 Deaflympics
The Motto of the event is “Sports comes from the our hearts”
Mascot
The mascot of the Deaflympics is the Ring-tailed Coati – Nino, meaning priceless, worthy of appreciation, cheerful, happy, very lucky, auspicious.
Events and Participation
A total number of 226 events across 18 sports were held with a participation of 2,349 athletes representing 71 nations.
- In addition to the events at Caxias, there are events scheduled for the neighbouring cities of Farroupilha and Flores da Cunha.
- The bowling events had to be removed from Caxias do Sul,Brazil and was later relocated to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and will be held on 20-30 October 2022.
- Russian and Belarussian athletes were barred from competing in Caxias do Sul,Brazil.
Total Medal Tally:
| Rank | Country | Total |
| 1 | Ukraine | 138 (Gold- 62, Silver- 38, Bronze- 38) |
| 2 | United States of America (USA) | 55 (Gold- 20, Silver- 11, Bronze- 24) |
| 3 | Iran | 40 (Gold- 14, Silver- 12, Bronze-14) |
| 9 | India | 17 (Gold- 8, Silver- 1, Bronze- 8) |
India Won on Total 17 Medals at The Deaflympics 2021
India has participated in the Deaflympics with the largest and youngest contingent of 65 athletes competing in 11 sports disciplines such as Athletics, Badminton, Judo, Golf, Karate, Shooting, Swimming, Tennis, Table Tennis, Taekwondo and Wrestling.
- India has won a total medal tally of 17, out of which Gold 8, Silver 1 and Bronze 8.
Highlights:
i.The Indian golfer Diksha Dagar outplayed American Ashlyn Grace in the final to bag the gold medal at the women’s Golf event.
ii.The Indian Shooter Abhinav Deshwal won the Gold in men’s 10m air pistol event after a shoot off with his counterpart Oleksii Lazebnyj from Ukraine.
iii.On Day 3, Dhanush Srikanth won the gold at men’s 10m air rifle event by competing with South Korea’s Kim Woo Rim. Also the Compatriot, Shourya Saini secured Bronze in the same event.
iv.The Indian shooter Vedika Sharma secured bronze in the women’s 10M air pistol event behind the Chinese Taipei’s Kao Ya-Ju who won Silver. The Gold in the same event was won by Ukraine’s Inna Afonchenko.
v.India finished second in the Shooting event with three gold and two bronze, only after Ukraine which secured 12 medals. This is the first time an Indian shooting team has participated at the Deaflympics on the initiative of the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI).
Medals Won by India:
| Athlete | Event | Medal |
|---|---|---|
| Dhanush Srikanth | Men’s 10m air rifle | Gold |
| Shourya Saini | Men’s 10m air rifle | Bronze |
| Vedika Sharma | Women’s 10m air pistol | Bronze |
| Abhinav Deshwal | Men’s 10m air pistol | Gold |
| Dhanush Srikanth & Priyesha Deshmukh | Mixed team 10m air rifle | Gold |
| Badminton Team | Mixed team badminton | Gold |
| Jerlin Jayaratchagan | Women’s singles badminton | Gold |
| Abhinav Sharma | Men’s singles badminton | Bronze |
| Diksha Dagar | Women’s golf | Gold |
| Jerlin Jayaratchagan & Abhinav Sharma | Mixed doubles badminton | Gold |
| Prithvi Sekhar & Dhananjay Dubey | Men’s doubles tennis | Silver |
| Prithvi Sekhar | Men’s singles tennis | Bronze |
| Prithvi Sekhar & Jafreen Shaik | Mixed doubles tennis | Bronze |
| Virender Singh | Men’s freestyle 74kg | Bronze |
| Amit Krishan | Men’s freestyle 86kg | Bronze |
| Sumit Dahiya | Men’s freestyle 97kg | Gold |
About Deaflympics:
i.Deaflympics is a competition for deaf athletes who compete at an elite international level. Unlike the athletes in other International Olympic Committee (IOC) – sanctioned events like the Olympics, the Paralympics, and the Special Olympics, the Deaflympians cannot be guided by sounds (i.e., the starter’s guns, bullhorn commands or referee whistles).
- The first edition of the Deaflympics, then known as the International Silent Games, were held in Paris in 1924.
ii.The games have been organised by the Comite International des Sports des Sourds, CISS (The International Committee of Sports for the Deaf).
iii.The Summer Deaflympics take place every 4 years and is the oldest multi-sport event after the Olympic Games.
- Gustavo de Araujo Perazzolo is the president of the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (ICSD).
Note:
i.India in Deaflympics 2017 held at Turkey, clinched a total of 5 medals; 1 gold, 1 silver and 3 bronze with a total participation of 46 athletes.
Related News:
i.Indian Shuttler Unnati Hooda(14-year-old) from Rohtak, Haryana, won the Badminton Women Singles title at the Odisha Open 2022, a Badminton World Federation(BWF) Super 100 Tournament held at Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, Cuttack, Odisha from 25th to 30th January 2022.
