India has many well-known people with disabilities whose achievements have changed public perceptions in sport, administration, entertainment, adventure and social advocacy. Their stories matter not because disability alone made them famous, but because of what they achieved in their chosen fields. India’s recent Paralympic success has brought much greater visibility to para-athletes, while civil servants, artists and advocates have also pushed conversations about accessibility and equal opportunity into the mainstream. This list brings together famous persons with disabilities in India in 2026 based on documented achievement, national recognition, public impact and continuing relevance. The numbering is editorial rather than a scientific ranking. Let’s check out 10 widely recognized Indians whose work has made them notable in their respective fields.
1. Deepa Malik
Deepa Malik is one of the most recognizable figures in Indian para-sport. She became the first Indian woman to win a Paralympic medal when she took silver in the F53 shot put at Rio 2016. Malik has paralysis below the chest following treatment and surgeries for a spinal tumour, yet went on to compete in para-athletics, swimming and motorcycling. She has received the Padma Shri, Arjuna Award and Khel Ratna. She also served as president of the Paralympic Committee of India, extending her influence from competition to administration and disability inclusion.
2. Arunima Sinha
Arunima Sinha is known internationally as a mountaineer and as the first female amputee to climb Mount Everest. A former national-level volleyball player, she lost her left leg after a violent train incident in 2011. During recovery, she decided to take up mountaineering and reached the summit of Everest in 2013 using a prosthetic leg. Her achievement brought national attention and led to a career as a public speaker and author. Her book, Born Again on the Mountain, recounts her journey from the accident to Everest.
3. Devendra Jhajharia
Devendra Jhajharia is one of India’s most accomplished Paralympic athletes. Competing in the F46 javelin category, he won gold at Athens 2004 and Rio 2016, followed by silver at Tokyo 2020. He lost his left arm in childhood after coming into contact with a live electrical cable. Jhajharia has received major national sporting honours, including the Padma Shri and Khel Ratna. In 2024, he was elected president of the Paralympic Committee of India, giving him a major leadership role in the development of para-sport.
4. Avani Lekhara
Avani Lekhara is one of the defining faces of India’s new generation of Paralympic athletes. A road accident in 2012 caused a spinal cord injury and paraplegia. She later took up shooting and developed into an elite competitor. At Tokyo 2020, she became the first Indian woman to win a Paralympic gold medal and also won bronze in the 50m rifle three positions event. At Paris 2024, she successfully defended her 10m air rifle SH1 title, becoming the first Indian woman to win two Paralympic gold medals.
5. Sumit Antil
Sumit Antil is a leading Indian para-javelin thrower and a two-time Paralympic champion. He lost his left leg below the knee after a motorcycle accident as a teenager, ending his earlier ambition of pursuing wrestling. After moving into para-athletics, he became a world-class F64 javelin thrower. Antil won gold at the Tokyo Paralympics and retained the title at Paris 2024. His performances have also included world-record throws, making him one of India’s most prominent contemporary para-athletes.
6. Mariyappan Thangavelu
Mariyappan Thangavelu is a Paralympic high jumper from Tamil Nadu whose medal record spans three Games. As a child, he sustained a serious leg injury in a bus accident, which affected the growth and function of one leg. He later took up athletics and became an elite high jumper. Thangavelu won gold at Rio 2016, silver at Tokyo 2020 and bronze at Paris 2024. His consistency across three Paralympic cycles has made him one of India’s most successful para-athletes.
7. Shekar Naik
Shekar Naik is a former captain of the Indian blind cricket team and one of the best-known names in Indian blind cricket. Born blind, he later regained partial vision in one eye after surgery. He developed his cricket skills at a school for the blind in Karnataka and went on to represent India. Under his captaincy, India won the inaugural T20 Blind Cricket World Cup in 2012 and the Blind Cricket World Cup in 2014. Naik received the Padma Shri in 2017 and has remained associated with sport and disability inclusion.
8. Preethi Srinivasan
Dr. Preethi Srinivasan is a disability-rights advocate and co-founder of Soulfree, an organization supporting people with spinal cord injuries. Before her injury, she was an accomplished young sportsperson and captained the Tamil Nadu under-19 women’s cricket team. At 18, an accident caused a cervical spinal cord injury that resulted in paralysis below the neck. She later became a prominent voice on rehabilitation, accessibility and independent living. In 2025, she completed a PhD at IIT Madras, adding another notable milestone to her advocacy work.
9. Ira Singhal
Ira Singhal is an Indian Administrative Service officer who became nationally known after topping the Civil Services Examination. She has a locomotor disability linked to scoliosis and became the first woman with a disability to top the UPSC civil services examination. Her achievement was especially significant because she had earlier challenged barriers connected with service allocation and disability rules. Singhal has since worked in public administration and spoken about accessibility, inclusion and equal opportunity, making her a widely cited example of disability representation in India’s senior civil services.
10. Sudha Chandran
Sudha Chandran is an Indian classical dancer and actor whose career is closely associated with her return to dance after losing a leg. Following an accident as a teenager, her right leg was amputated. She later learned to dance using a Jaipur Foot prosthetic limb and returned to the stage after extensive practice. Her life inspired the Telugu film Mayuri, in which she played herself, and its Hindi remake Naache Mayuri. Chandran later built a long career in television and cinema while remaining strongly identified with dance.
Why These Names Continue to Matter in 2026
The importance of these public figures goes beyond personal success. Para-athletes such as Avani Lekhara, Sumit Antil, Mariyappan Thangavelu and Devendra Jhajharia have helped establish disability sport as elite competition with mainstream national attention. Ira Singhal’s civil-service career highlighted institutional accessibility, while Preethi Srinivasan’s work focuses on rehabilitation and independent living. Sudha Chandran, Arunima Sinha and Shekar Naik show how disability intersects with art, adventure and sport in very different ways.
Conclusion
India’s well-known persons with disabilities come from very different backgrounds, but each has built a public record based on concrete achievement. Paralympic champions have rewritten sporting history, a civil servant challenged institutional barriers, a dancer returned to the stage with a prosthetic limb, a mountaineer reached Everest and an advocate built support systems for people with spinal cord injuries. In 2026, their wider relevance lies in greater visibility, stronger expectations of accessibility and a clearer understanding that disability does not define the limits of professional or public achievement.
