Deepthi Jeevanji did not stop at setting a record in the heats. The Indian runner returned to the track in Nagoya on Tuesday and delivered an even faster performance in the final, clocking 56.36 seconds to win gold in the women’s 400m T20 at the 2026 Asian Para Games. The 23-year-old athlete from Telangana also established a new Games record.
Jeevanji had recorded 57.57 seconds in the heats, setting an Asian Para Games record before improving her time by more than a second in the final. Japan’s Niina Kanno finished second in 58.92 seconds, while compatriot Akane Kato secured bronze in 1:00.26. The victory gave India its first gold medal of the day and fifth overall at the Games.
The latest triumph adds to the growing list of accomplishments of an athlete who has made rapid progress in international para athletics. Jeevanji won the 400m T20 title at the 2023 Asian Para Games, became a world champion in 2024 and secured bronze at the Paris Paralympics that year.
HOW DID DEEPTHI JEEVANJI RISE THROUGH THE RANKS?
Jeevanji’s journey in athletics began when she was 15. N Ramesh, a coach with the Sports Authority of India, spotted her at a state-level athletics competition in Telangana and began training her.
She won bronze at the 2019 Asian Youth Championships in Hong Kong before claiming two gold medals in the 100m and 200m at the 2020 Khelo India Youth Games.
Her breakthrough at the senior international level came at the 2023 Asian Para Games in Hangzhou, where she won gold in the 400m T20 while setting both Games and Asian records.
She followed that achievement with gold at the 2024 World Para Athletics Championships in Kobe, Japan. There, she clocked 55.07 seconds in a world-record performance at the time.
Later in 2024, Jeevanji won bronze in the 400m T20 at the Paris Paralympics, becoming the first Indian athlete with an intellectual impairment to secure a Paralympic medal. These achievements established her as one of India’s leading para-athletes and paved the way for her return to the Asian Para Games in Nagoya.
Her performance in the heats had offered an early indication of her form, but she raised her level in the final. Her finishing time of 56.36 seconds gave her a comfortable advantage over Kanno, who crossed the line more than two seconds later.
The T20 classification is designated for athletes with intellectual impairments, which can affect information processing, concentration and the ability to execute race strategies. In the 400m, athletes must balance speed with the effort required to maintain their pace over an entire lap. Jeevanji’s improvement between the heats and final helped her clinch the gold medal and establish a new Games record.
