Indian para-athletes concluded an extraordinary campaign at the Asian Para Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, scripting a glorious chapter in the nation's sporting history. The contingent amassed a record total of 114 medals, consisting of 30 golds, 35 silvers, and 49 bronzes. At the end of the fifth day of competitions, India held fourth position on the overall medal table, trailing only continental heavyweights led by China, who captured first position with an immense tally of 427 medals. While the games officially close on October 23, no Indian athletes were scheduled to compete on the final day, cementing India's historic collection at 114 medals.
Surpassing the Hangzhou Mark with a Leaner Squad
The achievement in Japan represents a significant leap forward in athletic efficiency and excellence. At the previous Asian Para Games held in Hangzhou in 2022, India sent a massive contingent of 309 athletes and initially gathered 111 medals, comprising 27 golds, 32 silvers, and 49 bronzes. That total was subsequently reduced to 108 after three medals won by Neeraj Yadav and Parveen were revoked due to doping violations. In contrast, the 2026 delegation achieved 114 medals with only 168 participating athletes, demonstrating remarkable conversion rates and world-class preparation.
India's long-term trajectory at the continental event underscores this progress. At the inaugural Asian Para Games in 2010, the country claimed a modest total of 14 medals. That tally expanded to 33 at the second edition in 2014 and surged to 72 at the 2018 Jakarta games. Reaching 114 medals in Aichi-Nagoya reflects sustained institutional growth and rising athletic dominance across diverse para disciplines.
Stellar Dominance Across Track and Field
Indian track and field competitors established global benchmarks, games records, and multiple podium sweeps. In women's discus throw F54, Suvarna Raj captured gold with a personal best mark of 15.66 metres. Two-time Paralympic high jump silver medallist Nishad Kumar made his debut in the men's long jump F46 event, leaping 7.11 metres to claim gold. Nishad returned to the field the very next day in his preferred event, the men's high jump T47, clearing 1.88 metres to secure his second gold medal within 48 hours.
India dominated the men's javelin throw F46, where Rinku Hooda took gold and Ajit Singh secured silver in a three-man field featuring personal season-best performances. In the women's 1500m T12/T13 race, Saumya registered a career-best time of 5:12.39 to win gold ahead of compatriot Venkatesh Radha, who finished in 5:30.90. Ravanni Valsanaini claimed bronze in the women's 1500m T11 and later secured another bronze in the women's 400m T11 final with a personal-best effort of 1:03.64.
Deepthi Jeevanji powered to gold in the women's 400m T20 with a games record timing of 56.20 seconds. In men's javelin F53/F54, Pradeep Kumar claimed silver with a 27.45m throw, while Ayush Verma earned bronze with 17.88m in the F53 category. Ayush followed this by capturing gold in men's shot put F53 with an 8.16m throw. Praveen Sharma took bronze in men's shot put F11 with a personal-best 13.86m.
On the sprint track, Preeti Pal secured two silver medals, clocking 29.53 seconds in the women's 200m T35 and 13.98 seconds in the women's 100m T35. In men's discus throw F51/F52/F53, Pranav Soorma and Ram Ratan Singh claimed gold and silver respectively. Pranav added another gold in men's club throw F51, setting a games record with a throw of 32.87m. Simran dominated the women's 200m T12 with a games record time of 24.80 seconds, accompanied by Tejalben Damor's personal-best 25.23 seconds for bronze. Simran repeated her golden success in the women's 100m T12 final, clocking 12.02 seconds. Tejalben also earned silver in the women's 400m T12 in 57.60 seconds.
India swept all three podium spots across several marquee field disciplines. In men's discus throw F43/F44/F62/F64, Devender Kumar, Rakesh, and Pradeep Kumar captured all three medals. The men's javelin throw F42-F44/F61-F64 witnessed another clean sweep, as Sumit Antil took gold, Mahendra Gurjar won silver, and Sandeep Sargar took bronze. In the men's high jump T63, Shailesh Kumar won gold with a 1.89m clearance, flanked by Varun Bhati with 1.84m for silver and Rahul with 1.81m for bronze. Shailesh also collected a bronze in men's long jump T42/T61/T63 with 5.57m (675 points). The men's shot put F46 podium was similarly an all-Indian affair: Sachin Khilari captured gold with a games record throw of 15.87m, while Mohd Yasser threw 15.06m for silver and Parveen threw 14.94m for bronze.
Haney produced a historic moment in the men's javelin throw F37, launching a massive 60.49m to establish a new world record and claim gold. Haney also earned bronze in the men's javelin F37 category with a final attempt of 57.04m. Navdeep Singh, who was awarded gold at the Paris Paralympics following the disqualification of Iranian competitor Sadegh Beit, took bronze on this occasion. Sukhchain claimed bronze in men's javelin F55 with 29.94m, while Manjeet secured silver in men's javelin F12/F13 with 61.41m. Karamjyoti took bronze in women's discus throw F55 with a personal-best 21.60m.
Dilip Gavit exhibited supreme sprinting ability, capturing double gold medals. He won the men's 400m T47 in 48.27 seconds, followed by gold in the men's 100m T47 in 10.69 seconds, just edging compatriot Basil Mohammed who took silver in 10.72 seconds. Anjanaben Bambadiya took gold in the women's 400m T47 in 59.97 seconds, with Jayanti Behera taking silver. Solairaj Dharmaraj won gold in men's long jump T44/T62/T64, while Nimisha Suresh secured silver in women's long jump T47 with 5.37m.
Other athletics medals included Hokato Hotozhe's bronze in men's shot put F56/F57 with 14.65m, Bhagyashri Jadhav's silver in women's shot put F34, and Ravi Rongali's bronze in men's shot put F40 with 10.02m. Pramod Bijarnia claimed silver in men's 1500m T46, and Sharath Makanahalli won bronze in men's 1500m T12/T13 with 4:11.01. Anubhav Choudhary clocked 12.72 seconds for bronze in men's 100m T35, while Rakeshbhai Bhatt won bronze in men's 100m T37 with 11.50 seconds and another bronze in the 200m T37. Pranav Desai won bronze in men's 100m T64 in 11.96 seconds, and Akira Banothu claimed silver in men's 400m T35/T38. In men's high jump T64, Praveen Kumar clinched gold with a games record jump of 2.05m, falling only 0.03m short of his Asian record, while Bunty took silver with 1.92m.
Mastery in Archery and Badminton
In para archery, Sheetal Devi emerged as a premier performer. She won gold in the women's compound individual final, defeating Singapore's Nur Syahidah Alim 142-139. Sheetal teamed up with Toman Kumar to win gold in the compound mixed team final, prevailing 151-148 against Indonesia's pairing of Teodora Audi Ayudia Ferelly and Ken Swagumilang. Sheetal also combined with Payal Nag to win silver in women's compound doubles. Swati Choudhary secured silver in the women's W1 category. In recurve men's doubles, Harvinder Singh and Vijay Sundi defeated China's Yun Duo and Zhao Lixue 5-1 to capture gold, while Pooja Jatyan and Bhavna Choudhary earned silver in recurve women's doubles.
Indian shuttlers generated substantial medal returns in para badminton. In the all-Indian men's singles SL3 final, Nitesh Kumar defeated Pramod Bhagat 21-18, 21-16 to take gold, leaving Bhagat with silver. Naveen Sivakumar produced a commanding display to capture gold in men's singles SL4, a category where Suhas Yathiraj and Abhijeet Sakhuja each claimed bronze. In women's doubles SL3-SU5, Thulasimathi Murugesan and Manasi Joshi overcame China's Yang Qiuxia and Xiao Zuxian to claim gold. Thulasimathi also took silver in women's singles SU5 and partnered Nitesh Kumar for silver in mixed doubles SL3-SU5. Manisha Ramdass secured silver in women's singles SU5, Sanjana Kumari took bronze in women's singles SL3, and Nithya Sre Sumathy Sivan earned silver in women's singles SH6. Nithya teamed with Krishna Nagar to earn bronze in mixed doubles SH6. Alphia James and Pallavi K won bronze in women's doubles WH1-WH2, while Suryakant Yadav and Naveen Sivakumar secured bronze in men's doubles.
Medals in Shooting, Swimming, Table Tennis, Powerlifting, and Judo
Shooters delivered world-record precision on the firing lines. Mona Agarwal captured gold in the women's 50m rifle 3 positions SH1 with a world-record final score of 357.1. Mona added another gold medal with a games record in a separate contest, while Avani Lekhara earned silver in the women's 10m air rifle SH1. In the 10m air pistol SH1, Manish Narwal claimed silver in the men's event, and Srishti Arora collected bronze in the women's competition.
Para swimming brought several podium finishes led by Ravi Karthik Budigina, who won silvers in the men's 100m freestyle S13 (56.68 seconds) and men's 100m backstroke S13 (1:10.10), alongside a bronze in the 50m freestyle S13 (25.89 seconds). Himanshu Nandal earned bronze in the 400m freestyle S11 in 5:10.91, and Himanshi Nandal took bronze in men's 100m breaststroke SB11 in 1:20.72. Niranjan Mukundan posted 2:57.01 for bronze in the men's 200m individual medley S7, while Rohit Kumar recorded 1:57.25 for bronze in the men's 100m breaststroke SB4.
In para table tennis, Indian players progressed deep into tournament draws. Bhavina Patel in women's singles Class 4-5 lost to China's Zhang Bian in the semi-finals to finish with bronze. Sonalben Patel (Class 3) fell to South Korea's Yoon Ji-yu, Prachi Pandey (Class 6) was halted by Iraq's Najlah Al-Dayyeni, and Sahana Ravi (Class 9) lost to China's Mao Jingdian in their respective semi-finals, each collecting bronze. Jehan Madan secured bronze after finishing fourth in his men's singles Class 1 group, and later partnered Shubham Wadhwa to take bronze in men's doubles Class MD4.
The powerlifting contingent added two silver medals: Kasturi Rajamani finished second in the women's up to 67kg division, while Ashok lifted a best of 192kg in the men's up to 65kg category for silver. In para judo, Kokila earned silver in the women's J2 -52kg event, and Kapil Parmar claimed bronze in the men's J1 -70kg category, rounding out India's multi-sport haul in Aichi-Nagoya.
