Hokato Hotozhe Sema’s path to the Paralympic podium began far from any athletics field. A Subedar in the Indian Army’s 9 Assam Regiment, which he joined in 2000, he lost his left leg in a landmine blast during a counter-infiltration operation along the Line of Control in Jammu & Kashmir in 2002. He continued his military service as a Junior Commissioned Officer while taking up para shot put.
At the Paris 2024 Summer Paralympics, Sema won the bronze medal in Men’s Shot Put F57 with a personal-best throw of 14.65m, becoming the first athlete from Nagaland to win a Paralympic medal for India. The achievement followed an earlier bronze in the Shot Put F56/57 category at the 2022 Asian Para Games in Hangzhou, China.
In recognition of his sporting and military record, Sema received the Arjuna Award in 2024 and became the first Paralympian conferred the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM). Video highlights of his bronze-medal throw in Paris, along with footage of him dedicating the medal to his wife, remain part of the public record of that competition.
Where to find Hokato Hotozhe Sema
Featured on The FitFolk
Is this you?
This profile is editorial — built from public, verified sources. If you’re Hokato Hotozhe Sema, you can claim it: tell your story in your own words, correct anything, add your links, or curate what appears here. Write to claim@thefitfolk.com from an account we can verify (your Instagram DM or an email linked to your public profiles) — or ask us to take the profile down entirely, no questions asked.
This is an editorial profile of a public creator, based on verified public sources. Visuals are official Instagram embeds — we host none of their media. See our editorial policy or request a takedown.