Asian Para Games, Oct 22 wrap: Sheetal Devi, Solairaj lead India's gold medal run

Sheetal Devi's double gold and Dharmaraj Solairaj's Asian-record long jump headlined India's medal rush at the Asian Para Games in Nagoya. Indian athletes also impressed in athletics, swimming, badminton and table tennis, with several para-shuttlers reaching finals.

In Short

• Sheetal Devi wins two gold medals as India shine in para archery
• Dharmaraj Solairaj defends long jump title with Asian record of 7.15m
• Budigina completes swimming hat-trick as Indian para-shuttlers reach finals

India enjoyed a productive day at the Asian Para Games in Nagoya, with Sheetal Devi winning two gold medals in archery and Dharmaraj Solairaj defending his men's long jump title with an Asian record. Indian para-athletes added to the gold rush with a sweep of the men's high jump T63 podium and a one-two finish in the women's 400m T47.

The Indian contingent also collected medals in swimming and table tennis, while the para-badminton team assured itself of multiple gold-medal opportunities by securing places in several finals.

Asian Para Games 2026, October 22: Updates

SHEETAL'S DOUBLE GOLD

Armless Indian archer Sheetal Devi continued her remarkable run, winning the women's compound individual gold before combining with Toman Kumar to claim the mixed team compound title.

Sheetal defeated Singapore's Nur Syahidah Alim 142-139 in the individual final to secure her second successive Asian Para Games gold in the event. She then joined forces with Toman to add another gold in the mixed team competition.

The Indian duo defeated Chinese Taipei 142-141 in the semifinals before overcoming Indonesia 151-148 in the final to finish on top of the podium.

India also secured a silver medal through Swati Chaudhary in the women's W1 individual event. She went down 4-6 to China's Cen Mengkan in the final.

Toman, meanwhile, narrowly missed out on another medal, losing 139-148 to China's Zhang Yicheng in the men's compound individual bronze-medal match.

ATHLETICS DELIVER GOLD

Dharmaraj Solairaj led India's charge on the track and field circuit, defending his men's long jump title with an Asian record of 7.15m.

The 32-year-old from Tamil Nadu produced the record-breaking effort on his second attempt in the combined T44/T62/T64 event, adding another major achievement to his para-athletics career.

India also celebrated a clean sweep in the men's high jump T63 event. Shailesh Kumar claimed gold with a Games-record clearance of 1.89m, while Varun Bhati took silver with a season-best 1.84m. Rahul completed the Indian sweep by winning bronze with 1.81m.

Anjanaben Bumbadiya won the women's 400m T47 gold in 59.97 seconds, leading an Indian one-two finish. Jayanti Behera claimed silver in 1:00.65, while Thailand's Sasirawan Inthachot took bronze in 1:02.58.

“This is just my second international competition and to have won a gold here gives me immense happiness. All I wanted to do was give my best and I am happy I could do it in this event,” Bumbadiya said after the race.

Tejalben Damor added a silver medal in the women's 400m T12, clocking 57.60 seconds. It was her second medal of the Games after she won bronze in the women's 200m T12.

Dilip Gavit won the men's 100m T46/T47 combined event in 10.69 seconds. India's Mohammed Morssinganakath Basil finished second in 10.72 seconds, while China's Kangjun Shi took bronze in 10.80 seconds.

Pranav Desai added a bronze in the men's 100m T64, finishing in 11.96 seconds. Japan's Kengo Oshima won gold in 11.39 seconds, ahead of Thailand's Denpoom Kotcharang, who clocked 11.78 seconds for silver.

Preeti Pal secured silver in the women's 100m T35 with a time of 13.98 seconds. It was her second silver of the Games after her runner-up finish in the 200m T35. Preeti had also won two bronze medals at the 2024 Paralympics.

Suvarna Raj completed India's gold-medal success in the field events by winning the women's discus F54 with a best throw of 15.66m. She produced four throws beyond 15 metres, with her gold-winning effort coming on her fifth attempt. Iran's Shahla Hadidi took silver with 15.45m, while Vietnam's Thi Ngoc Thuy Nguyen won bronze with 14.65m.

India's Parveen Kumar finished fifth in the men's javelin F56/F57, recording a best effort of 42.80m. Uzbekistan's Yorkinbek Odilov won gold with an Asian Para Games record of 50.41m, followed by compatriot Talantbek Kurbonov at 48.81m and Iran's Amnollah Papi at 48.07m.

BUDIGINA'S SWIMMING HAT-TRICK

Teenage para swimmer Ravi Karthik Budigina completed a hat-trick of medals with bronze in the men's 50m freestyle S13, as three other Indians also finished on the podium in the pool.

The 18-year-old from Andhra Pradesh clocked 25.89 seconds to finish third in the event. Budigina had earlier won silver medals in the men's S13 100m backstroke and 100m freestyle.

Kapil Kumar clinched silver in the men's 400m freestyle S10, clocking 4:38.44 to finish behind Japan's Akito Minai. Minai won gold in a Games-record time of 4:27.44.

Swatik Patil added bronze in the men's 100m breaststroke SB9 with a time of 1:13.77, while Tejas Nandakumar finished third in the men's 100m backstroke S7 in 1:18.58.

The four podium finishes took India's medal tally in swimming to 10, although the team was still waiting for its first gold in the pool.

The S13 classification is for swimmers with visual impairments who have the least vision loss among eligible competitors. SB9 is for athletes with relatively minimal physical impairments, while S7 includes swimmers with specified physical impairments affecting their limbs or trunk.

BADMINTON ASSURES FINALS

India were assured of a top-two finish in the men's singles SL3 badminton event after Pramod Bhagat produced a determined comeback to defeat South Korea's Lee Seunghu in a gruelling semifinal.

The 38-year-old six-time world champion and Tokyo Paralympic gold medallist recovered from losing the first game to win 16-21, 21-18, 21-17 after a two-hour-and-nine-minute battle. He will now face compatriot Nitesh Kumar in the final, guaranteeing India gold and silver in the event.

Paris Paralympic champion Nitesh also reached the men's singles SL3 final, defeating Indonesia's M Imran 21-19, 21-16 in 52 minutes. He had earlier partnered Thulasimathi Murugesan to reach the mixed doubles SL3-SU5 final, with the Indian pair defeating China's Li Mingpin and Xiao Zuxian 21-19, 14-21, 21-17 in a 42-minute semifinal at the Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium.

Naveen Sivakumar advanced to the men's singles SL4 final after defeating Abhijeet Sakhuja 21-13, 21-15. Nithya Sre Sumathy Sivan also reached the women's singles SH6 final after beating China's Lin Shuangbao.

Thulasimathi booked her place in the women's singles SU5 final by defeating Manisha Ramdass 19-21, 21-15, 21-13. Pramod Bhagat and Nitesh's progress in their respective events added to India's strong showing on the badminton courts.

India also collected five bronze medals in different badminton events. Manisha Ramdass and Pramod Bhagat won bronze in mixed doubles SL3-SU5, while Nithya Sre Sumathy Sivan and Krishna Nagar finished third in mixed doubles SH6.

Suryakant Yadav and Naveen Sivakumar took bronze in men's doubles SL3-SU5. Suhas Yathiraj won bronze in men's singles SL4, while Sanjana Kumari secured a podium finish in women's singles SL3. Abhijeet Sakhuja also finished with bronze in men's singles SL4.

BHAVINA WINS TABLE TENNIS

India's Bhavina Patel and Shubham Wadhwa signed off with bronze in the mixed doubles XD7 table tennis competition after losing to South Korea's Jang Yeongjin and Lee Migyu in the semifinals.

The Indian pair went down 6-11, 11-8, 5-11, 8-11 in the last-four clash but had already assured themselves of a medal by reaching the semifinals.

Bhavina and Shubham had entered the last four with a convincing 11-9, 11-3, 11-6 victory over Japan's Kimie Bessho and Masanori Uno in the quarterfinals.

India's medal-winning performances across archery, athletics, swimming, badminton and table tennis underlined another productive day for the contingent at the Asian Para Games in Nagoya.

- Ends