India Wins 24 Medals at Asian Para Games 2026, With Badminton and Athletics Leading the Charge
India added 24 medals to its tally on Tuesday, October 20, at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Para Games 2026, collecting five gold, six silver and 13 bronze medals to remain sixth in the overall standings. Para athletics delivered all five of the day’s gold medals, while Indian athletes also made progress across archery, shooting, swimming, table tennis and badminton.
The day brought record-breaking performances and important results beyond the medal count. Athletics produced three Games records and one Asian record, and shooter Manish Narwal earned India a quota place for the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympic Games alongside his silver medal in the men’s 10m air pistol SH1 event.
The fifth Asian Para Games conclude on October 24. India has sent 168 athletes to compete across 11 sports, with the contingent seeking to build on its strong showing as the competition enters its final stretch.
Para athletics delivers five gold medals and a new Asian record
India’s gold-medal surge came entirely from track and field. Deepthi Jeevanji won the women’s 400m T20 in 56.36 seconds, setting a new Games record. Simran Sharma followed with a record-breaking victory in the women’s 200m T12, clocking 24.80 seconds. Tejalben Damor added bronze in the same final in 25.23 seconds.
On the men’s side, Nishad Kumar cleared 2.04 metres to win the T47 high jump and establish another Games record. Devender Kumar took gold in the men’s discus throw F43/F44/F62/F64 with a throw of 49.71 metres. Rakesh won silver at 49.35 metres, while Pardeep Kumar claimed bronze with 51.15 metres.
Pranav Soorma produced one of the day’s standout performances in the men’s F51/52/53 discus. His winning throw of 11.66 metres set a new Asian record. India completed a one-two finish as Ram Ratan Singh took silver with 10.35 metres.
Other athletics medals included silver for Pradeep Kumar in the men’s F53/F54 javelin, with a throw of 27.45 metres, and bronze for Ayush Verma. Praveen Sharma won bronze in the men’s F11 shot put, while Hokato Hotozhe Sema earned bronze in the F56/F57 shot put. Preeti Pal secured silver in the women’s T35 200m, and the men’s 100m T13 and women’s 200m T12 finals also featured Indian qualifiers and finalists.
Archers advance through a demanding knockout schedule
Indian para archers faced a packed programme of individual and team events, with several athletes reaching the later rounds. Sheetal Devi beat the Philippines’ Agustina Bantiloc 147-135 in the women’s compound quarterfinal before defeating Japan’s Aya Shinohara 145-137 in the semifinal. Payal Nag also advanced from her opening match but was edged out by Shinohara in the quarterfinal.
In the men’s compound event, Toman Kumar overcame Chinese Taipei’s Jyun-kai Yang after a shoot-off in a 143-143 quarterfinal, with the Indian’s arrow judged closer to the centre. He later lost his semifinal to China’s Al Xinliang. Shyam Sunder Swami also reached the quarterfinals, where he fell short by a single point.
India’s team events brought further encouraging results. Harvinder Singh and Bhawna won their mixed recurve quarterfinal 6-0 against Thailand, while Sheetal Devi and Toman Kumar beat Japan 154-147 in mixed compound. Harvinder and Vijay Sundi progressed to the men’s recurve doubles semifinal after defeating Mongolia, then beat Korea in a shoot-off to reach the final. Pooja and Bhawna also moved into the women’s recurve doubles final, defeating Iran 6-2.
In women’s compound doubles, Sheetal Devi and Payal Nag beat Thailand 151-135 to book a final place. India’s men’s compound pair lost a close semifinal to Indonesia, while W1 archer Swati Chaudhary advanced to her individual final with a 6-2 semifinal victory over South Korea’s Lee Eunhee.
Shooting success brings a Paralympic quota
Manish Narwal finished second in the men’s P1 10m air pistol SH1 final with a score of 233.7. The result secured a quota place for India at the 2028 Paralympics, adding long-term significance to his Asian Para Games silver. Rudransh Khandelwal also reached the final after qualifying, finishing seventh.
Shrishti Arora won bronze in the women’s P2 10m air pistol SH1 final, scoring 214.7. Sumedha Pathak qualified for the final as well and placed eighth. The results gave India medals in both air pistol finals, while highlighting the depth of the country’s shooting team.
Badminton players reach key knockout rounds
Indian badminton players produced a mix of quarterfinal victories, group-stage wins and tough exits. Pramod Bhagat beat Japan’s Daisuke Fujihara 21-12, 21-10 in the men’s singles SL3 quarterfinal, while Nitesh Kumar defeated compatriot Umesh Kumar in straight games. Sanjana Kumari also advanced in women’s singles SL3, beating China’s Liu Yuemei 21-19, 21-12.
Manisha Ramdass and Pramod Bhagat combined to defeat Thailand’s Siripong Teamarrom and Chanida Srinavakul 21-15, 21-14 in the mixed doubles SL3-SU5 quarterfinal. Krishna Nagar and Nithya Sre Sumathy Sivan won their mixed doubles SH6 group match against Chinese Taipei in straight games.
India also recorded men’s singles wins in SL4 and SU5. Abhijeet Sakhuja beat Chen Pengfei of China, Suhas Yathiraj defeated Thailand’s Siripong Teamarrom, and Hardik Makkar overcame Indonesia’s Suryo Nugroho. In women’s doubles WH1-WH2, Alphia James and Pallavi Kaluvehalli recovered from a second-game loss to beat China’s Li Jiaqi and Li Hongyan in three games.
There were close contests and setbacks elsewhere. Krishna Nagar lost a three-game SH6 quarterfinal to Thailand’s Natthapong Meechai, while Sivarajan Solaimalai and several Indian players in wheelchair events were eliminated. The varied results underlined the breadth of India’s badminton participation across impairment classifications.
Swimming, table tennis and other sports add to the tally
India’s swimmers won two bronze medals. Himanshu Nandal finished third in the men’s 400m freestyle S11, and Niranjan Mukundan claimed bronze in the men’s 200m individual medley SM7. Several Indian swimmers qualified for finals, including Abdul Quadir Indori in the 50m butterfly S5 and Jahangir Molla and Ravi Karthik Budigina in the 100m breaststroke SB13.
Table tennis also contributed four bronze medals through semifinal appearances. Bhavina Patel, Sonalben Patel, Prachi Pandey and Baby Sahana Ravi each secured bronze in their respective women’s singles classes. In boccia, Anjali Devi recorded two pool victories in the women’s individual BC3 event.
India also earned a silver medal in men’s powerlifting through Ashok, who lifted 192kg in the up-to-65kg final. The day’s results included close finishes and early exits across cycling, judo and team events, but India’s combination of record performances, medal-winning depth and progress in badminton and archery kept its campaign firmly on course.
