Asian Para Games Oct 22 wrap: Sheetal Devi, Solairaj lead India’s gold medal drive

India enjoyed a productive day at the Asian Para Games in Nagoya, with Sheetal Devi winning two gold medals in archery and Dharmaraj Solairaj defending his men’s long jump title with an Asian record. Indian para-athletes added to the gold rush with a T63 men’s high jump podium finish and a T47 women’s 400m finish.

The Indian contingent also collected medals in swimming and table tennis, while the para-badminton team secured several gold medals by securing places in several finals.

Asian Para Games 2026, October 22: Update

TIN DOUBLE GOLD

Armless Indian archer Sheetal Devi continued her remarkable run, winning individual gold in the women’s compound event before combining with Toman Kumar to claim the mixed team title.

Sheetal defeated Singapore’s Nur Syahidah Alim 142-139 in the singles final to clinch her second consecutive Asian Para Games gold. She then joined forces with Tomanová to add another gold in the mixed team competition.

The Indian duo defeated Chinese Taipei 142-141 in the semi-finals, then defeated Indonesia 151-148 in the final to finish on the podium.

India also secured a silver medal through Swati Chaudhary in the women’s W1 individual category. In the final, she lost to the Chinese Cen Mengkan 4:6.

Toman, meanwhile, narrowly missed out on another medal when she lost 139-148 to China’s Zhang Yicheng in the individual bronze medal match.

ATHLETICS DELIVER GOLD

Dharmaraj Solairaj led the Indian charge on the circuit, defending his men’s long jump title with an Asian record of 7.15m.

The 32-year-old from Tamil Nadu produced a record-breaking performance at his second attempt in the T44/T62/T64 combined event to add another major achievement to his para-athletic career.

India also celebrated a clean sweep in the men’s T63 high jump. Shailesh Kumar won gold with a Games record 1.89m, while Varun Bhati won silver with a season’s best 1.84m. Rahul completed India’s sweep by winning bronze with 1.81m.

Anjanaben Bumbadiya won the women’s 400m T47 gold in 59.97 seconds to lead India’s one-two finish. Jayanti Behera claimed silver in 1:00.65 while Thailand’s Sasirawan Inthachot took bronze in 1:02.58.

“This is only my second international competition and winning the gold gives me immense happiness. All I wanted was to give my best and I am happy that I did that at this event,” said Bumbadiya after the race.

Tejalben Damor added a silver medal in the women’s 400m T12 in 57.60 seconds. It was her second medal of the Games after winning bronze in the women’s 200m T12.

Dilip Gavit won the men’s 100m T46/T47 medley in 10.69 seconds. India’s Mohammed Morssinganakath Basil finished second in 10.72 seconds while China’s Kangjun Shi won the bronze in 10.80 seconds.

Pranav Desai added a bronze in the men’s 100m T64, clocking 11.96 seconds. Japan’s Kengo Oshima won gold in 11.39 seconds ahead of Thailand’s Denpoom Kotcharang who took silver in 11.78 seconds.

Preeti Pal secured silver in the women’s 100m T35 with a time of 13.98 seconds. It was her second silver of the Games after her second place finish in the 200m T35. Preeti also won two bronze medals at the 2024 Paralympics.

Suvarna Raj capped India’s success in the gold medal field by winning the women’s discus F54 with a best throw of 15.66m. She completed four throws over 15m to clinch the gold in her fifth attempt. Iran’s Shahla Hadidi took silver with 15.45m, while Vietnam’s Thi Ngoc Thuy Nguyen took bronze with 14.65m.

India’s Parveen Kumar finished fifth in the men’s F56/F57 javelin with a best performance of 42.80m. Uzbekistan’s Yorkinbek Odilov took the gold with an Asian Para Games record of 50.41m, followed by compatriot Talantbek Kurbonov with 48.81m and Iran’s Amnollah Papi with 48.07m.

BUDIGINA’S SWIMMING HAT

Teenage paraswimmer Ravi Karthik Budigina completed a hat-trick of medals with a bronze in the men’s 50m freestyle S13 as three other Indians also finished on the podium in the pool.

The 18-year-old from Andhra Pradesh clocked 25.89 seconds to finish third in the event. Budigina previously won silver medals in the men’s S13 100m breaststroke and 100m freestyle.

Kapil Kumar won silver in the S10 men’s 400m freestyle in 4:38.44, finishing behind Japan’s Akito Minai. Minai won gold in a Games record 4:27.44.

Swatik Patil added bronze in the 100m backstroke SB9 in 1:13.77 while Tejas Nandakumar finished third in the 100m backstroke S7 in 1:18.58.

The four podium finishes took India’s swimming medal tally to 10, although the team was still waiting for its first gold in the pool.

The S13 classification is intended for visually impaired swimmers who have the least amount of vision loss among eligible competitors. SB9 is for athletes with a relatively minimal physical disability, while S7 includes swimmers with a specified physical disability affecting their limbs or trunk.

BADMINTON PROVIDES THE FINALS

India secured the top two spots in men’s SL3 badminton after Pramod Bhagat staged a determined comeback to defeat South Korea’s Lee Seunghu in a grueling semi-final.

The 38-year-old six-time world champion and gold medalist from Tokyo recovered from a first-game loss to win 16-21, 21-18, 21-17 after a two-hour, nine-minute battle. He will now face compatriot Nitesh Kumar in the final, who guarantees gold and silver for India.

Paris Paralympic champion Nitesh also reached the SL3 men’s singles final, defeating Indonesia’s M Imran 21-19, 21-16 in 52 minutes. He had earlier partnered with Thulasimathi Murugesan to reach the SL3-SU5 mixed doubles final, with the Indian pair defeating China’s Li Mingpin and Xiao Zuxian 21-19, 14-21, 21-17 in a 42-minute semi-final at the Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium.

Naveen Sivakumar advanced to the men’s singles SL4 final after defeating Abhijeet Sakhuja 21-13, 21-15. Nithya Sre Sumathy Sivan also reached the SH6 women’s singles final after defeating China’s Lin Shuangbao.

Thulasimathi booked her place in the SU5 women’s singles final by defeating Manisha Ramdass 19-21, 21-15, 21-13. The progress of Pramod Bhagat and Nitesh in the respective events added to India’s strong showing on the badminton courts.

India also collected five bronze medals in various badminton events. Manisha Ramdass and Pramod Bhagat won bronze in SL3-SU5 mixed doubles, while Nithya Sre Sumathy Sivan and Krishna Nagar finished third in SH6 mixed doubles.

Suryakant Yadav and Naveen Sivakumar took bronze in men’s doubles SL3-SU5. Suhas Yathiraj won bronze in men’s singles SL4 while Sanjana Kumari secured a podium finish in women’s singles SL3. Abhijeet Sakhuja also finished with a bronze in men’s singles SL4.

BHAVINA WINS TABLE TENNIS

India’s Bhavina Patel and Shubham Wadhwa bagged bronze in the mixed doubles XD7 table tennis after losing to South Korea’s Jang Yeongjin and Lee Migyu in the semi-finals.

The Indian pair have lost 6-11, 11-8, 5-11, 8-11 in their last four encounters but have already secured a medal in the semi-finals.

Bhavina and Shubham entered the last four with a convincing 11-9, 11-3, 11-6 victory over Japan’s Kimie Bessho and Masanori Uno in the quarterfinals.

India’s medal performances in archery, athletics, swimming, badminton and table tennis underlined another productive day for the contingent at the Asian Para Games in Nagoya.

– The end