Deaflympics : 2025 /Three-time Deaflympics gold medallist Jerlin Jayaratchagan

India will participate in the 2025 Deaflympics, which are slated to take place in Tokyo from November 15, 2025, with a record number of members representing the nation at 111 total members. Participants will compete in 11 events: athletics, badminton, golf, judo, karate, shooting, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, wrestling, and tennis.
Flagbearer:
• Three-time Deaflympics gold medallist Jerlin Jayaratchagan will represent the Indian contingent as the flagbearer.
• The shuttler from Madurai debuted at the Deaflympics in 2017 at 13 years old.

At the 2021 Summer Deaflympics (held in 2022 in Brazil), she made history by taking three gold medals in women’s singles, mixed doubles, and team event.

• In 2022, she was the first Indian woman Deaflympian to receive an Arjuna Award.

History of the Deaflympics:
The Deaflympics are an international multi-sport event, specifically a competition for athletes that are deaf or are hard of hearing. The Deaflympics are conducted by the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (ICSD) and the Deaflympics are organized under the International Olympic Committee (IOC) patronage.

First Deaflympics: 1924 in Paris, France, formerly known as the International Silent Games.

• Frequency: Once every four years, like the Olympics.

• Eligibility: Athletes must possess a hearing loss in their better ear of at least 55 dB.

• Significance: This event creates a platform for deaf athletes to compete at the highest level internationally and champion deaf sports, equality, and inclusivity in sports.

What is the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (ICSD):
The International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (ICSD) is the international governing body that organizes and oversees international sport competitions for deaf athletes, including the Deaflympics.

History and Purpose:
• Founding Date: 1924
• Founder: Eugène Rubens-Alcais, a French deaf sports advocate, organized the first international competition for deaf athletes in Paris.
• Purpose: To provide deaf athletes opportunities to compete at the international level and promote equality, inclusion, and awareness of deaf sports all over the world.

Structure:
• All national federations of sports for the deaf around the world make up the ICSD.
• Membership: The ICSD consists of more than 100 countries; each represented by its National Deaf Sports Federation.
• The ICSD also works closely with international federations and sports organizations like the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to seek recognition of deaf sports and free of standards of the sport which also applies to deaf sports.