Nagoya: India’s para-swimming campaign received a boost on Thursday as Kapil Kumar secured silver in the men’s 400m freestyle S10 final at the Asian Para Games 2026, finishing second with a time of 4:38.44. Japan’s Akito Minai claimed gold in a Games-record 4:27.44, while Iran’s Shahin Izadyar took bronze in 4:38.65.
Kapil delivered a strong performance in the five-swimmer final to earn a place on the podium, finishing narrowly ahead of Izadyar. Although Minai established a clear lead with his record-breaking swim, the Indian swimmer held on to second place to add another medal to India’s tally at the continental competition.
The silver medal also marked the conclusion of Kapil’s campaign at the Games, giving India another podium finish in para swimming.
The S10 classification is designated for swimmers with relatively minor physical impairments, which can include weakness in the legs, missing feet, certain below-knee amputations or hip impairments. In para swimming, the prefix S is used for freestyle, backstroke and butterfly events, while SB denotes breaststroke and SM refers to individual medley competitions.
India also enjoyed success in other events on Thursday. In para table tennis, Bhavina Patel and Subham Wadhwa secured bronze in the mixed doubles XD7 category despite losing their semifinal against South Korea’s Jang Yeongjin and Lee Migyu. The Indian pair had booked their place in the last four with a straight-games victory over Japan’s Kimie Bessho and Masanori Uno.
In badminton, Thulasimathi Murugesan advanced to the women’s SU5 final after defeating compatriot Manisha Ramadass 19-21, 21-15, 21-13 in an all-Indian semifinal. Ramadass finished with bronze.
Sheetal Devi, meanwhile, completed a golden double, taking the top honours in the compound archery mixed team as well as individual events. This was her third medal at the Aichi-Nagoya games this season after a silver medal in the women’s doubles alongside Payal Nag.
(IANS)
