India Secures Three Silver Medals on Day 5 of the 2026 Asian Para Games

India's Silver Medal Achievements

On October 23, during the ongoing 2026 Asian Para Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, Indian athletes Thulasimathi Murugesan, Parmod, and the women's recurve doubles team of Bhawna and Pooja each earned silver medals.

Thulasimathi faced off against Qiuxia Yang from China in the women's singles SU5 final, ultimately losing with scores of 18-21 and 11-21. Meanwhile, Parmod successfully defended his silver medal in the men's 1500m T46 event, finishing with a time of 4:09.65.

In the para archery event, Bhawna and Pooja were unable to secure victory against the Chinese duo, losing the gold medal match 0-6, with set scores of 31-38, 30-35, and 29-39.

These three silver medals have contributed to India's overall medal tally of 91, which includes 21 gold, 29 silver, and 41 bronze, placing India fourth in the medal standings, while China leads with a total of 319 medals.

Thulasimathi, born on April 11, 2002, in Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu, began her journey in athletics at the age of five before transitioning to badminton. She was born with a congenital deformity in her left hand, which resulted in the loss of her thumb, and she also suffers from chronic ulnar neuritis and muscle atrophy. An accident further limited her left hand's mobility.

Her father, D. Murugesan, dedicated five years to her training and introduced her to para-sports. Thulasimathi's notable achievements include winning a silver medal in women's doubles at the 2024 World Championships and a gold medal in women's doubles at the 2023 Fazza Dubai Para Badminton International, along with medals from the 2022 Asian Para Games.

Parmod, aged 26, replicated his silver medal performance from the 2022 Hangzhou Games in the men's 1500m T46 event, finishing with a time of 4:09.65.

In the women's recurve doubles final, Bhawna and Pooja struggled to keep pace with the Chinese team, who averaged 9.33 points per arrow compared to India's 7.50, leading to a straight-set defeat.

As Day 5 progresses, India has numerous opportunities to enhance their medal count, with competitions in para badminton, para athletics, para swimming, para archery, para powerlifting, shooting para sport, and more.

Key upcoming events include Naveen Sivakumar's men's singles SL4 final and Nithya Sre Sumathy Sivan's women's singles SH6 final in para badminton. Thulasimathi will also return to compete in the mixed doubles SL3-SU5 final alongside Nitesh Kumar against Indonesia's Leani Oktila and Hikmat Ramdani.

In para archery, Harvinder Singh and Bhawna Choudhary are set to compete in the recurve mixed team semifinal against China's Zhao Lixue and Wang Xueqian, with a medal match to follow if they advance.

India is also counting on its top para-athletes in the men's javelin finals, with Sumit Antil, Sandip Sargar, and Mahendra Gurjar competing in the F42-F44/F61-F64 event. Additionally, Pranav Soorma, Dharambir Nain, and Amit Kumar Saroha will participate in the men's club throw F51 final.