SportsPosted at: Oct 19 2026 6:04PM


Asian Para Games: India win 11 medals, including four gold, on opening day

Tridib Baparnash
New Delhi, Oct 19 (UNI) India made a strong start to its 2026 Asian Para Games campaign on Monday, winning 11 medals, including four gold, five silver and two bronze, across shooting, para-athletics, judo and swimming in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. The country ended the day fourth in the overall standings, with established names such as shooter Mona Agarwal and long jumper Nishad Kumar leading the gold rush.
Armless archer Sheetal Devi also delivered a standout performance, equalling the world record in the women’s compound qualification round before teaming up with Rakesh Kumar to set a new world mark in the mixed team event. Meanwhile, Indian table tennis and badminton players assured the country of more medals by advancing to the semifinals in their respective events.
Mona Agarwal wins shooting gold
The medal rush began with Mona producing a stirring comeback in the women’s 10m air rifle SH1 final to beat compatriot Avani Lekhara for the gold.
The Paris 2024 Paralympics bronze-medallist climbed from sixth place to post an Asian Para Games record of 250.0 points, edging two-time Paralympic champion Avani, who finished with 249.6.
The 24-year-old Avani, the defending champion, settled for silver. Mona’s victory also secured India a second quota place for the 2028 Los Angeles Paralympics. She had already earned one quota place after winning silver at the World Shooting Para Sport Championships in Changwon, South Korea, last month.
Mona had topped the eight-shooter qualification field with 629.1 points, setting another Asian Para Games record, while Avani finished second with 626.4.
Nishad, Soumya and Rinku lead para-athletics charge
India enjoyed a productive evening in para-athletics, with Nishad Kumar, Soumya Kumar and Rinku Hooda winning gold in their respective events.
Nishad, a two-time Paralympic silver-medallist in the high jump T47, made his international debut in the long jump and secured gold with an effort of 7.11m. The Himachal Pradesh athlete lost his right arm in a grass-cutting machine accident when he was six years old.
Soumya won the women’s 1500m T12/T13 event in a personal-best time of 5:12.39 seconds, leading an Indian one-two finish. Her compatriot Radha Venkatesh, running with guide Govind Solanki, took silver in 5:30.90.
In the women’s 1500m T11 event, Ravanni Valasanaini was awarded bronze after the original third-place finisher, Rakshitha Raju, was disqualified for a technical violation.
India also secured a one-two finish in the men’s javelin F46 event, with Rinku winning gold with a season’s best throw of 65.11m. Ajeet Singh followed closely with 65.02m to claim silver, also recording a season’s best. Indonesia’s R Saktyono took bronze with 55.30m.
The F46 classification covers athletes with certain upper-limb impairments, including an above- or below-elbow amputation or an equivalent impairment.
Judokas and swimmer add to medal tally
India’s visually impaired judokas contributed two more medals, with Kokila winning silver in the women’s J2 -52kg category and Kapil Parmar taking bronze in the men’s J1 -70kg event.
Kokila, who won bronze at the previous Asian Para Games in Hangzhou, lost to Kyrgyzstan’s Aibike Ulanbek Kyzy in the final.
Kapil, a silver-medallist at the previous edition, missed out on a place in the final after losing his semifinal to Indonesia’s Junaedi 0-1. He bounced back in the bronze-medal playoff, defeating another Indonesian, Ahnaf Rafli Shidqi, 1-0.
India’s Ravi Karthik Budigina also won silver in the men’s 100m freestyle S13 event, clocking 56.68 seconds. The S13 classification is for swimmers with a relatively minor visual impairment.
Table tennis and badminton assure more medals
India’s table tennis contingent assured the country of medals in three classes after Prachi Pandey, Sonalben and Bhavina Patel advanced to the semifinals.
Prachi defeated Thailand’s Kanokporn Phathumchai 11-5, 11-4, 11-13, 12-10 in the women’s Class 6 event to secure India’s first-ever Para Asian Games medal in the category.
Sonalben beat Thailand’s Dararat Asayut 3-1 (11-7, 8-11, 11-5, 11-5) in the women’s Class 3 quarterfinal, while Paralympic silver-medallist Bhavina overcame China’s Zhang Miao 3-1 (8-11, 11-6, 11-1, 11-6) in the Class 4-5 event.
India also assured itself of a mixed doubles medal in para-badminton, with Nitesh Kumar and Thulasimathi Murugesan advancing to the semifinals after topping Group B in the SL3-SU5 category with an unbeaten record.
The Indian pair received a walkover from China’s Yang Jianyuan and Yang Qiuxia in their opening match before defeating compatriot rivals from China, Chen Pengfei and Huang Zixuan, 21-4, 21-18 in 23 minutes at the Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium.
Paris Paralympics champion Nitesh also won his men’s singles SL3 Group A match, beating South Korea’s Joo Dongjae 21-13, 21-15. Ruthick Ragupathi continued India’s winning run with a 21-12, 21-12 victory over Thailand’s Somsiri Pricha in the men’s singles SU5 Group C event.
With four gold medals and several more assured podium finishes, India will look to build on the momentum as the competition progresses.
UNI TB RSA
Tags: #Asian Para Games: India win 11 medals# including four gold# on opening day
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