India Opens Asian Para Games 2026 with 11 Medals as Shooters, Archers and Athletes Shine
India made an impressive start to the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Para Games 2026, collecting 11 medals on the opening day and ending Sunday in fourth place on the overall standings. The haul comprised four gold, five silver and two bronze medals, with standout performances in para shooting, athletics and para judo setting an encouraging tone for the days ahead.
A dramatic Indian one-two in the women’s 10m air rifle final and another in the men’s F46 javelin were among the day’s highlights. The programme also brought a record-breaking performance in para archery and a busy opening schedule for India’s badminton players, many of whom began their group campaigns with important wins.
The fifth edition of the continental multi-sport event runs until October 24. India has sent 168 athletes to compete across 11 sports, with the team seeking strong results across both medal events and group-stage contests.
Para shooting delivers a memorable one-two
India’s most striking result in the shooting range came in the women’s R2 10m air rifle standing SH1 final. Mona Agarwal won gold with a Games-record 250.0, while fellow Indian shooter Avani Lekhara claimed silver with 249.6. Their qualification performances had already signalled a strong challenge: Agarwal topped the field with 629.1, setting a new Asian Para Games qualification record, and Lekhara advanced in second place with 626.4.
In the men’s R1 10m air rifle standing SH1 event, Swaroop Mahavir Unhalkar finished fourth in the final with 205.9, while Rakesh Nidagundi placed seventh. Both had reached the final after finishing among the leading qualifiers. Anandha Krishnan H placed 13th in qualification and did not advance.
Archery records and a powerful javelin double
Para archery produced one of the day’s landmark performances. Sheetal Devi set a new Asian record of 704 in the women’s compound ranking round, finishing first. She and Payal Nag also topped the women’s compound doubles ranking with a combined 1,265. Swati Chaudhary led the W1 women’s ranking round with a Games-record score of 648.
India’s archers also made progress in the elimination rounds. In the W1 men’s round of 16, Adil Mohamed Nazir Ansari defeated Hong Kong, China’s Man Tai Yung 6-0, while Vinayak Amol Breed beat Thailand’s Suphawat Samutchaiyak by the same score. India placed second in the W1 mixed-team ranking round, with Chaudhary and Ansari combining for 1,286.
On the athletics field, Rinku and Ajeet Singh secured another Indian one-two, this time in the men’s F46 javelin. Rinku took gold with a throw of 65.11 metres, narrowly ahead of Ajeet, whose 65.02m earned silver. Nishad Kumar added gold in the men’s T47 long jump, reaching 7.11m.
India also claimed two medals in the women’s 1500m. Soumya won the T12/T13 final in 5:12.39, while Radha Venkatesh finished second in 5:30.90. Ravanni Valasanaini earned bronze in the T11 1500m. In track events, Deepthi Jeevanji qualified for the women’s T20 400m final with a Games-record 57.57 seconds. Jayanti Behera and Anjanaben Bumbadiya also advanced to the women’s T47 200m final.
Badminton team mixes strong wins with early tests
Badminton was among the busiest sports for India on Sunday, with players competing in singles, doubles and mixed doubles across several impairment classes. The opening results offered both momentum and useful early tests as athletes began navigating their groups.
Nitesh Kumar recorded two notable victories, beating South Korea’s Joo Dongjae in men’s SL3 singles and partnering Thulasimathi Murugesan to a mixed doubles SL3-SU5 win over China. Ruthick Ragupathi also won in men’s SU5 singles and teamed up with Manasi Joshi for a convincing mixed doubles success against the Philippines. In women’s events, Manisha Ramdass defeated Indonesia’s Warining Rahayu, Thulasimathi Murugesan beat Hong Kong’s Wong Lai Ming, and Mandeep Kaur and Shanthiya Vishwanathan won their women’s doubles match.
Other Indian badminton winners included Sivarajan Solaimalai and Sudarsan Muthusamy in men’s SH6 singles, Surya Kant Yadav and Naveen Sivakumar in men’s SL4 singles, and Pramod Bhagat in a three-game SL3 contest against South Korea’s Lee Seunghu. Krishna Nagar and Solaimalai also secured a men’s SH6 doubles victory. India did face defeats in several matches, including the men’s SL3-SU5 doubles pairing of Sukant Kadam and Pramod Bhagat, who lost to Indonesia. With group play continuing, the early wins will be important for qualification and confidence.
Medals and progress across the wider programme
Para judo added another bronze to India’s tally. Kapil Parmar advanced through the men’s J1 under-70kg quarterfinal before losing his semifinal, then won the bronze-medal bout by ippon. Kokila reached the women’s J2 under-52kg final after a semifinal victory but finished with silver after losing to Kyrgyzstan’s Aibike Ulanbek Kyzy.
Swimming brought a silver medal for Ravi Karthik Budigina, who finished the men’s 100m freestyle S13 in 56.68 seconds. Several Indian swimmers narrowly missed the podium, including Niranjan Mukundan and Gopichand Lingutla in the men’s 400m freestyle S7, and Himanshu Nandal in the men’s 100m backstroke S11. Swatik Patil qualified for the men’s SM9 200m individual medley final and later placed sixth.
In para table tennis, Sonalben Patel progressed in women’s Class 3 after a quarterfinal win, while Bhavina Patel advanced in the women’s Class 4-5 competition by beating China’s Zhang Miao. India also recorded group-stage wins through Baby Sahana Ravi and Prachi Pandey. Elsewhere, India’s men’s team lost its preliminary match to Thailand, while powerlifting and track cycling competitors finished outside the medal positions on Sunday.
Strong opening sets up the week ahead
India’s first-day performance combined medals, records and promising qualification results. The shooting and athletics successes supplied immediate rewards, while archery and badminton offered encouraging signs of further opportunities as their competitions progress. With finals and group matches still to come before October 24, India’s fourth-place standing gives the 168-member contingent a solid platform to build on.
