Aichi-Nagoya, October 24, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
India’s para-athletes marched with the national flag at the closing ceremony of the Asian Para Games 2026 at Paloma Mizuho Stadium on Friday, bringing an end to the country’s most successful campaign at the continental event with a record 114 medals.
Double gold medallist para-shooter Mona Agarwal and athlete Nishad Kumar served as co-flag-bearers at the ceremony, marking the conclusion of an impressive campaign in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. India finished with 30 gold, 35 silver and 49 bronze medals.
The tally surpassed India’s previous best of 108 medals at the 2022 Asian Para Games in Hangzhou, where the country won 27 gold, 32 silver and 49 bronze medals. Three medals from that edition were subsequently revoked following doping violations involving Neeraj Yadav and Parveen.
India’s achievement was particularly notable because the 2026 contingent comprised 168 para-athletes, significantly fewer than the 309 athletes who competed in Hangzhou. Despite the smaller team, India produced outstanding performances across para-athletics, para-badminton, para-archery, shooting, table tennis and swimming.
Para-badminton delivered several memorable results. Paralympic champion Nitesh Kumar defeated world champion Pramod Bhagat 21-18, 21-16 in the men’s singles SL3 final to claim gold and secure an all-Indian podium.
Thulasimathi Murugesan and Manasi Girishchandra Joshi won gold in women’s doubles SL3-SU5, defeating China’s Qiuxia Yang and Zuxian Xiao 21-16, 21-13. Thulasimathi also claimed silver in women’s singles SU5, while Nithya Sre Sumathy Sivan secured silver in women’s singles SH6 after losing to China’s Fengmei Li.
India also achieved a historic milestone in para-archery. Harvinder Singh and debutant Vijay Sundi won gold in the men’s recurve doubles, while Pooja Jatyan and Bhawna Choudhary claimed silver in the women’s recurve doubles, earning India its first medal in that event at the Asian Para Games.
Para-athletics once again played a major role in India’s medal haul, with several athletes producing record-breaking performances.
Haney set a world record of 60.49 metres in the men’s javelin throw F37/38 competition, winning gold in the T37 category. Debutant Sandeep also claimed gold in the men’s 400m T64, clocking 52.28 seconds and setting a world record in the T44 category. Ajay Kumar won bronze in the same race.
India secured all three podium places in the men’s javelin throw F42-F44/F61-F64 final. Sumit won gold in T64 with a throw of 72.46 metres, scoring 1,112 points. Mahendra Gurjar took silver in T42 with a Games-record effort of 59.03 metres, while Sandip Sanjay Sargar claimed bronze in T44 with a Games-record throw of 64.48 metres.
Pranav Soorma won gold in the men’s club throw F51 with a Games-record distance of 32.87 metres, while Dharambir secured bronze. Navdeep Singh added a bronze in the men’s javelin throw F40/41, and Rakeshbhai Bhatt finished third in the men’s 200m T37.
Sandeep further strengthened his medal tally with bronze in the men’s 100m T44, clocking 11.67 seconds. He ended the Games with one gold, one bronze and a world record.
In para-shooting, co-flag-bearer Mona Agarwal capped her campaign with gold in the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions SH1, scoring 357.5 points to set world and Asian Para Games records. She also became the first Indian para-shooter to win a medal in the event at the Games.
India’s para-table tennis contingent added another medal through Jehan Dorab Madan and Shubham Wadhwa, who won bronze in the men’s doubles Class MD4. At 50, Madan became the oldest Indian medallist at the Games.
Para-swimmer Himanshu Nandal claimed bronze in the men’s 100m freestyle S11 with a time of 1:05.90, finishing the competition with three bronze medals.
India’s record-breaking campaign in Aichi-Nagoya underlined the growing depth of the country’s para-sports talent, with athletes delivering landmark performances across multiple disciplines despite competing with a considerably smaller contingent than in the previous edition.
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