Asian Para Games: Rinku wins gold as Ajeet takes silver to repeat 2022 podium success

Ajeet Singh and Rinku Hooda India’s Rinku and Ajeet Singh staged a thrilling one-two finish in the men’s F46 javelin at the 2026 Asian Para Games on Monday, with Rinku beating his compatriot by just nine centimeters to win gold and secure his third double podium finish on Day 1.Rinku produced a season’s best throw of 65.11m to claim the top spot, while Ajeet recorded his season’s best of 65.02m to settle for silver. Indonesian Rizal Bagus Saktyono won bronze with a personal best throw of 55.30 in a field of three athletes.The battle between the two Indian throwers went down to the narrowest of margins, with Rinku’s final distance just enough to separate the gold and silver medalists.India also dominated the men’s javelin F46 at the 2022 Asian Para Games in Hangzhou, where Sundar Singh Gurjar won gold with a world record throw of 68.60m. Rinku claimed silver with 67.08m while Ajeet took bronze with 63.52m.Classification F46 is for athletes with a disability involving amputation above or below the elbow or an equivalent disability. The result added to India’s strong start at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Para Games as Rinku and Ajeet joined forces to secure another one-two finish for the country on the opening day of the competition.

Gold also in action T12/T13

Earlier, India secured a 1-2 finish at the 2026 Asian Para Games with Soumya Kumar winning gold and Radha Venkatesh claiming silver in the women’s 1500m T12/T13 on Monday after earlier podium finishes for the country earlier.Soumya, running with guide Bharath Kumar, clocked a personal best of 5:12.39 to score 621 points, while Radha, accompanied by guide Govind Solanki, secured the silver with 421 points after clocking 5:30.90.Japan’s Mana Sasaki took bronze with 336 points despite posting a faster time of 5:12.15 as the combined T12/T13 event used a points system to determine the final standings.