India's Para-Athletes Shine Bright at Asian Para Games with Record Medal Haul

India's Historic Performance at the Asian Para Games

Nagoya: Indian para-athletes have exceeded all expectations, concluding their participation in the Asian Para Games with an impressive total of 114 medals, which includes 30 golds, following a record-breaking final day in Nagoya, Japan.

The Indian contingent comprised 168 athletes, nearly half the size of the team that participated in the Hangzhou Games in 2023, where they achieved a then-record of 108 medals, including 27 golds.

In a surprising turn, para-athletics did not dominate the gold medal tally this time; instead, contributions from shuttlers, archers, and shooter Mona Agarwal significantly boosted India's overall count, culminating in 30 gold, 35 silver, and 49 bronze medals.

Currently, India ranks fourth in the medal standings, although this position may shift as finals for several events are scheduled for Saturday, in which India is not competing.

On the final day, India secured nine gold medals, marking their highest single-day achievement in this edition, with standout performances in archery, shooting, badminton, and athletics.

Athletics remained a powerhouse, contributing a total of 65 medals, which is 12 more than in 2023.

On Friday, badminton players shone brightly, earning three gold medals, including individual victories by Paris Paralympic champion Nitesh Kumar and Naveen Sivakumar.

Nitesh, a seasoned player, clinched gold in the men's singles SL3 class and added a silver in the mixed doubles SL3-SU5 event, while debutant Naveen topped the men's singles SL4 category.

Nitesh showcased a stellar performance, defeating fellow Indian and Tokyo Paralympic gold medalist Pramod Bhagat with scores of 21-18, 21-16 in the men's singles final, before securing a mixed doubles silver alongside Thulasimathi Murugesan.

Naveen triumphed over Indonesia's Fredy Setiawan with scores of 21-9, 21-17 to claim the top prize in his category.

Murugesan also had a remarkable day, winning a gold and two silver medals, including the women's doubles title.

The 24-year-old, who won silver at the Paris Paralympics, teamed up with Manasi Joshi to secure the women's doubles SL3-SU5 title, defeating China's Yang Qiuxia and Xiao Zuxian with scores of 21-16, 21-13.

Earlier, Thulasimathi earned silver in the women's singles SU5, losing to Yang Qiuxia in the final.

In athletics, Sandeep and Haney achieved gold medals with world record performances in the men's 400m T64 and men's javelin throw F37/38 events, respectively. Sumit Antil, the reigning Paralympic and world champion, led an Indian sweep in the men's javelin throw F42-44/61-64 combined event with a throw of 72.46m.

Mahendra Gurjar (59.03m) and Sanjay Sandeep Sargar (64.48m) followed him, with Gurjar finishing ahead due to the severity of his disability.

The wheelchair-bound Pranav Soorma secured the last gold of the day for India in the men's club throw event with a Games record of 32.87m.

Earlier, Sandeep set a world record with a time of 52.28 seconds in the 400m T64 final, while Ajay Kumar took bronze with a Games record of 53.61 seconds.

In the javelin throw F37/38 final, Haney achieved a world record throw of 60.49m for gold.

Nimisha Chakkungalparambil and Parmod Bijarnia also earned silver medals in the women's long jump T47 and men's 1500m T46 events, respectively.

Mona's Remarkable Shooting Performance

Para-shooter Mona Agarwal delivered an outstanding performance, breaking the world record in the women's 50m rifle 3 positions SH1 competition.

She scored 357.5 at the Aichi Prefecture General Shooting Gallery, setting a new record and securing her second gold medal of the event.

Earlier, Agarwal won gold in the women's 10m air rifle standing SH1 event with a Games-record score of 250.0, while Avani Lekhara took silver with 249.6 points.

Harvinder's Archery Triumph

Paralympic champion Harvinder Singh and his debut partner Vijay Sundi clinched gold in the men's doubles with a confident performance, while India's women's doubles team settled for silver in the recurve archery events.

Harvinder and Vijay defeated China's Yun Duo and Zhao Lixue 5-1 in the final, while Bhawna Choudhary and Pooja Jatyan lost to China's Gao Zihan and Wang Xueqian 0-6 in the women's doubles final.

Swimming Achievements

The Indian swimming team exceeded expectations, finishing with 11 medals, including three silver, in the mega-event.

On the final day, Himanshu Nandal completed a hat-trick of bronze medals, adding another podium finish in the men's 100m freestyle S11.

The 22-year-old, who was born blind due to optic nerve failure, clocked 1:05.90, finishing behind Japan's Uchu Tomita (58.22 seconds) and China's Chuanzhen Sun (58.70 seconds).

Nandal had previously won bronze medals in the men's 400m freestyle and 100m breaststroke S11 events.

Ravi Budigina also secured three medals at these Games—two silver and one bronze.