Nagoya: India’s Kokila secured the silver medal in the women’s J2 -52kg judo event at the 2026 Asian Para Games in Aichi-Nagoya on Monday, finishing second after Kyrgyzstan’s Aibike Ulanbek Kyzy defeated her by ippon in just 21 seconds in the gold-medal bout at the Aichi Prefectural Martial Arts Hall.
Kokila entered the final on the back of an impressive semifinal performance against China’s reigning world champion Yi Liu, whom she defeated to guarantee India a medal. However, the Indian judoka was unable to replicate that success in the title clash, with Ulanbek Kyzy delivering a decisive finish to claim gold.
Despite the defeat, Kokila’s silver represents a significant achievement for Indian para-judo and marks an improvement on her bronze-medal finish in the women’s -48kg category at the previous Asian Para Games in Hangzhou. Competing in the -52kg division this time, she successfully progressed to the final and secured a place on the podium.
Her semifinal victory over Liu was among the highlights of her campaign. The Indian prevailed in a closely contested bout, registering a waza-ari and a yuko against her Chinese opponent. Liu also recorded a waza-ari, while Kokila received a shido penalty for a minor rule infringement during the contest.
The result sent Kokila into the final against Ulanbek Kyzy, but the Kyrgyz judoka proved too strong in the decisive encounter, ending the contest with an ippon after only 21 seconds.
Kokila, a visually impaired judoka from Haryana’s Jind district, has also represented India at the Paris 2024 Paralympics. She competes in the J2 classification, which caters to judokas with varying degrees of visual impairment.
Her performance in Aichi-Nagoya adds another continental medal to her growing international experience and reinforces India’s presence in para-judo. While the gold medal eluded her, reaching the final against a competitive international field underlines her progress since the previous edition.
Kokila will return from the Asian Para Games with silver after a campaign that showcased her ability to compete against some of the leading names in the discipline.
–IANS–
