Asian Para Games: Himanshu Nandal won bronze to give India its second medal in swimming

NEW DELHI: Indian para swimmer Himanshu Nandal won a bronze medal in the men’s S11 400m freestyle at the 2026 Asian Para Games on Tuesday, giving India its second swimming medal at the continental showpiece.The 22-year-old native of Rohtak clocked 5 minutes 10.91 seconds to finish third in a field of four swimmers. China’s Chuanzhen Sun won gold with an Asian record performance, while Japan’s Uchu Tomita won silver.Nandal’s podium finish added to India’s growing medal tally in Nagoya and came a day after he narrowly missed out on a medal in the men’s S11 100m breaststroke, finishing fourth.

From judo to swimming, Nandal has excelled

Blind since birth due to optic nerve failure, Nandal has taken a distinctive path to international para-swimming. A political science graduate from Delhi’s Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma College, he initially pursued judo and won medals at the national level before switching to swimming in 2021.He competes in the S11 classification, which is intended for swimmers with almost total visual impairment. His bronze on Tuesday marked a significant achievement after finishing fourth in the breaststroke a day earlier.

Budigina is missing silver after her success

Indian Ravi Karthik Budigina also competed in the men’s 400m freestyle race, finishing outside the medal positions in the S13 category with a time of 5:41.70.Budigina on Monday delivered India’s first swimming medal of this edition by winning silver in the men’s S13 100m freestyle in 56.68 seconds. Uzbekistan’s Egor Bolotov won gold in 52.90 seconds, while Kazakhstan’s Viktor Volkov claimed bronze in 57.23 seconds.The S13 classification is for visually impaired athletes who have the least amount of vision loss among eligible para-swimming competitors.

India claimed the medals

Nandal’s bronze gave India another boost at the Asian Para Games after Budigina’s silver on Monday. Indian para-swimmers will be looking to build on the early success as the competition continues in Aichi-Nagoya.The Indian contingent has so far bagged five gold, eight silver and 11 bronze medals, taking its tally to 24.