Nagoya, October 20, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Nishad Kumar clinched his second gold medal of the ongoing Asian Para Games with a record-breaking performance in the high jump, while Simran Sharma won the women’s 200m T12 title and Baby Sahana Ravi secured a historic bronze in para table tennis as India enjoyed another successful day in Aichi-Nagoya on Tuesday.
India collected nine gold, 11 silver and 15 bronze medals to reach a total of 35 by the end of the second day of competitions, moving up to sixth place in the medal standings.
China led the tally with 149 medals, including 70 gold, 44 silver and 35 bronze. Uzbekistan stood second with 56 medals (17 gold, 21 silver and 18 bronze), while hosts Japan were third with 63 medals, comprising 16 gold, 20 silver and 27 bronze.
Nishad secured gold in the men’s high jump T47 final at the Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium, clearing 2.04 metres to establish a new Games record. The previous record of 2.01 metres was held by Thailand’s Angkarn Chanaboon, set at the Jakarta 2018 Games.
Nishad also holds the Asian record of 2.14 metres, which he set at the 2025 World Para Athletics Championships in New Delhi. The world record stands at 2.16 metres, held by American athlete Roderick Townsend-Roberts.
Earlier in the Games, Nishad won gold in the men’s T47 long jump with a best effort of 7.11 metres. Primarily known for his high-jump achievements, he made a strong impression in the long jump as well, recording 7.11 metres twice during the final.
Baby Sahana Ravi emerged as another major highlight, winning India’s first-ever medal in women’s singles Class 9 para table tennis at the Asian Para Games. The athlete from Hosur, Tamil Nadu, lost 0-3 to China’s Mao Jingdian in the semi-finals but secured bronze.
Sahana took up table tennis in 2014 while studying in Class 5. A year later, she joined the Coronation Club under her first coach, Raj Aravindan Alagar, who helped nurture her interest in the sport.
She discontinued regular schooling after Class 9 and continued her education through the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), while dedicating six to eight hours a day to training.
India also secured a double podium finish in the women’s 200m T12, with Paralympic medallist Simran Sharma winning gold and debutant Tejalben Damor claiming bronze.
Simran clocked 24.80 seconds to set a new Games record, finishing ahead of Iran’s Hajjar Safarzadeh, who recorded 25.02 seconds.
A bronze medallist in the T12 category at the Paris 2024 Paralympics and a world champion in the 100 metres, Simran improved on her silver-medal performance at Hangzhou 2022, where she clocked 26.12 seconds. Her latest time marked an improvement of 1.32 seconds.
Tejalben, a visually impaired para-athlete from Gujarat, finished third in 25.23 seconds, registering a personal best.
India also swept the podium in the men’s discus throw across the F43, F44, F62 and F64 categories. Devender Kumar won gold with a throw of 49.71 metres in F44, while Rakesh took silver with 49.35 metres in the same category. Pradeep Kumar secured bronze in F64 with a personal-best effort of 51.15 metres.
In the men’s discus throw F51/F52 event, Pranav Soorma won gold with a new Asian record of 11.66 metres, while Ram Ratan Singh claimed silver with 10.35 metres.
Hokato Hotozhe Sema added a bronze medal in the men’s shot put F56/F57 final with a throw of 14.65 metres, earning 999 points.
India also won medals in swimming through Niranjan Mukundan in the men’s 200m individual medley SM7 and in shooting through Manish Narwal, adding to the country’s growing medal tally.
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