India made a strong statement at the Asian Para Games in Nagoya on Monday, October 19, with Mona Agarwal and Nishad Kumar leading the gold-medal charge. Archer Sheetal Devi also grabbed attention by equalling a world record before helping establish another.
Sheetal matched the world record during the women’s compound qualification round and later partnered with Rakesh Kumar to set a new world record in the mixed team event. Her performances underlined India’s growing strength in para-archery.
Indian athletes also secured multiple one-two finishes across different disciplines, raising hopes of further medal success in the coming days.
Following the day’s medal haul, India finished fourth in the standings. China established an early lead, while India remained within reach of Japan, which had eight gold medals, and Uzbekistan, which had six.
MONA, AVANI DELIVER SHOOTING CLASSIC
Mona Agarwal produced an impressive comeback in the women’s 10m air rifle SH1 final, rising from sixth place to defeat defending champion Avani Lekhara in a closely contested battle for gold.
Mona finished with an Asian Para Games record of 250.0 points, edging Avani by just 0.4 points. The two-time Paralympic champion secured silver with 249.6 points.
The victory marked another significant achievement in Mona’s growing career. She won bronze at the 2024 Paris Paralympics and also helped India secure a second quota place for the 2028 Los Angeles Paralympics. She had already earned a quota at the WSPS World Championships in Changwon, South Korea, last month, where she claimed silver.
Mona had demonstrated her form in the qualification round, topping the eight-competitor field with 629.1 points to establish an Asian Para Games record. Avani finished second with 626.4 points, setting up a closely fought all-Indian final.
NISHAD MAKES FLYING DEBUT, SOUMYA, RINKU JOIN GOLD RUSH
India enjoyed another productive day in para-athletics, with Nishad Kumar, Soumya and Rinku winning gold in their respective events.
Nishad’s victory in the men’s long jump was particularly notable. The two-time Paralympic silver-medallist was competing in an international long jump event for the first time but handled the occasion confidently, recording a leap of 7.11 metres to secure gold.
Soumya won the women’s 1500m T12/T13 event in a personal-best time of 5:12.39. Fellow Indian Venkatesh Radha completed a one-two finish by taking silver in 5:30.90.
India also earned bronze in the women’s T11 event through Ravanni Valasanaini. She moved into the medal positions after the original third-place finisher, Rakshitha Raju, was disqualified for a technical violation involving competition rules on clothing, footwear and bibs.
The men’s F46 javelin event produced another all-Indian podium, with Rinku winning gold and Ajeet Singh taking silver. Rinku’s final throw of 65.11 metres narrowly surpassed Ajeet’s 65.02 metres. Both athletes recorded their best throws of the season.
JUDOKAS DELIVER DOUBLE PODIUM JOY
India’s visually impaired judokas added two medals to the country’s tally, with Kokila winning silver and Kapil Parmar securing bronze.
Kokila finished runner-up in the women’s J2 -52kg category after losing the final to Kyrgyzstan’s Aibike Ulanbek Kyzy. Having won bronze at the Hangzhou Asian Para Games, Kokila improved on her previous result by claiming silver this time.
Kapil, who had won silver at the previous edition, finished third in the men’s J1 -70kg category. After narrowly losing his semifinal 0-1 to Indonesia’s Junaedi, he recovered in the bronze-medal playoff and defeated another Indonesian, Ahnaf Rafli Shidqi, by the same score.
RAVI KARTHIK ADDS SWIMMING SILVER
India continued its medal-winning performances in swimming, with Ravi Karthik Budigina taking silver in the men’s 100m freestyle S13 event.
Ravi clocked 56.68 seconds to finish on the podium in a category for swimmers with relatively minor visual impairments.
BHAVINA LEADS INDIA’S TABLE TENNIS CHARGE
India’s table tennis contingent ensured that more medals were within reach, as Paralympic silver-medallist Bhavina Patel, Prachi Pandey and Sonalben advanced to the semifinals in their respective women’s singles categories.
Prachi achieved a milestone by securing India’s first-ever Para Asian Games medal in women’s Class 6. She defeated Thailand’s Kanokporn Phathumchai 11-5, 11-4, 11-13, 12-10 in her second group match to qualify for the last four.
Sonalben continued India’s progress in Class 3 by beating Thailand’s Dararat Asayut 3-1 in the quarterfinal. She won the match 11-7, 8-11, 11-5, 11-5 to book her semifinal place.
Bhavina, a former Commonwealth Games gold-medallist, also advanced after recovering from an early setback against China’s Zhang Miao in the Class 4-5 quarterfinal. After losing the opening game, she fought back to win 8-11, 11-6, 11-1, 11-6.
NITESH, THULASIMATHI GUARANTEE BADMINTON MEDAL
India’s success continued in para-badminton, where Nitesh Kumar and Thulasimathi Murugesan secured a medal in mixed doubles SL3-SU5 by reaching the semifinals.
The Indian pair finished unbeaten at the top of Group B. After receiving a walkover against China’s Yang Jianyuan and Yang Qiuxia in their opening match, they defeated Chen Pengfei and Huang Zixuan of China 21-4, 21-18 in just 23 minutes at the Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium.
Their semifinal qualification guaranteed India at least a bronze medal in the event.
Paris Paralympics champion Nitesh also began his men’s singles SL3 campaign with a comfortable 21-13, 21-15 victory over South Korea’s Joo Dongjae in Group A.
Ruthick Ragupathi added another win for India, defeating Thailand’s Somsiri Pricha 21-12, 21-12 in the men’s singles SU5 Group C match.
