Sanjana Kumari Secures Bronze in Badminton at Asian Para Games 2026

Sanjana Kumari's Achievement

Indian para badminton player Sanjana Kumari clinched a bronze medal in the women's singles SL3 category at the Asian Para Games 2026. She faced Japan's Shino Kawai in the semifinal, where she was defeated 0-2 on Thursday. This victory marked India's fifth bronze in para badminton for the day. In her first appearance at the Asian Para Games, Sanjana lost in straight sets with scores of 7-21 and 9-21. Despite not advancing to the finals, her performance contributed to India's growing medal count in para badminton.

Additional Bronze Medals in Para Badminton

Earlier on the same day, other Indian para shuttlers also earned bronze medals. Krishna Nagar and Nithya Sre, along with Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj and Abhijeet Sakhuja, faced defeats in their semifinal matches. The duo of Krishna and Nithya lost 0-2 to Indonesia's Rina Marlina and Subhan in the mixed doubles SH6 semifinal. Suhas Yathiraj was narrowly defeated 1-2 by Indonesia's Fredy Setiawan in the men's singles SL4 semifinal, while Abhijeet Sakhuja lost 0-2 to fellow Indian Naveen Sivakumar in an all-Indian semifinal matchup.

The Indian pair of Krishna and Nithya lost their match with scores of 14-21 and 18-21, as the Indonesian team secured their spot in the finals.

Suhas had a close match, losing the first game 21-23 but rebounding to win the second game 21-8. The final game was tightly contested until the 11-point mark, after which Setiawan gained the lead to win with scores of 23-21, 8-21, and 21-15.

Meanwhile, Abhijeet Sakhuja was defeated by Naveen Sivakumar with scores of 13-21 and 15-21.

India's Medal Count at the Games

With these recent victories, India's overall medal tally at the Asian Para Games has reached 69, which includes 15 gold, 22 silver, and 32 bronze medals.