Nagoya: India’s Paralympic gold medallist Navdeep Singh won the bronze medal in the Men’s Javelin Throw F40/F41 event at the Asian Para Games with a best effort of 42.55 metres, while para-athlete Rakeshbhai Bhatt clinched bronze in the Men’s 200m T37 on Friday.
Navdeep, who won gold at the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games, finished third in the final after recording his best throw on his second attempt. His remaining four attempts were fouls.
Iran’s Beit Sadegh clinched the gold medal with a throw of 45.78 metres, while Indonesia’s Ansyari took silver with a personal best of 43.55 metres.
The bronze adds to an impressive international career for Navdeep, who has established himself among India’s leading para-athletes through consistent performances at major competitions.
The athlete from Panipat, Haryana, rose to prominence with his gold medal-winning performance at the Paris Paralympics in 2024. He had finished fourth at the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021 and also secured fourth place at the 2022 Asian Para Games, held in 2023.
Navdeep has also enjoyed success at the World Para Athletics Championships, winning silver in 2025 and bronze in 2024. He finished fourth at the 2023 edition of the championships and won gold at the U20 World Para Athletics Championships in 2019.
His other international achievements include gold medals at the Desert Challenge Cup in the United States in 2022 and the Fazza Grand Prix in Dubai in 2021. He also won gold at the Indian Open in 2023 and 2026.
Rakeshbhai, who was making his debut in the Para-Asian Games, started off the men’s 200m T37 well but was pushed back by Saudi Arabia’s Ali Alnakhli, who won gold in 23.32 seconds, setting an Asian Para Games record, and Indonesia’s Saptoyogo Purnomo took silver in 23.45 seconds in the later stages. He finished the race in 23.64 seconds to bag a bronze medal.
Hailing from a village in Gujarat, Rakesh began his journey in para-sports with the ambition of developing his abilities as a competitive sprinter. His involvement in athletics has provided him with an opportunity to pursue his sporting aspirations and progress towards higher levels of competition.
–IANS–
