Nagoya (Japan): Para-athletes made their mark for India with Simran claiming her second gold medal of the event and Dilip Gavit Mahadu and Mohammed Basil Morssinganakathi securing a one-two finish in men’s 100m T47 while defending champion Praveen Kumar cleared a Games Record height of 2.05m to win gold at the Asian Para Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya in Japan on Wednesday.
Indian athletes broke Games Records, set personal bests and swept all three medals in an event in Aichi-Nagoya as the country moved one place up from sixth to fifth in the standings on Day 6 of competitions, taking the medal tally to 62, comprising 14 gold, 22 silver and 26 bronze medals.
With Games records, a clean sweep and a series of personal bests, India’s para contingent wrapped up the day with its strongest medal haul yet, claiming five gold, 11 silver and 11 bronze medals.
The throwing arena was the centre of success on the day for the country, with India claiming all three medals in the Men’s Shot Put F46.
Sachin Khilari won gold with a Games Record of 15.79m on his very first attempt, with all his throws exceeding 15m. Mohd Yasser took silver with a season-best throw of 15.06m, while Praveen added bronze with 13.83m. Ayush Verma won gold in the Men’s Shot Put F53 with a throw of 8.16m. Bhagyashri Jadhav took silver in the Women’s Shot Put F34 with a personal best of 8.19m, while Ravi Rongali won bronze in the Men’s Shot Put F40 with a throw of 10.02m.
Manjeet won silver in the Men’s Javelin Throw F13 with a career-best throw of 61.03m, while Sukhchian claimed bronze in the Men’s Javelin Throw F55 with 29.94m. Karamjyoti won bronze in the Women’s Discus Throw F55 with a personal best of 21.60m. Haney also secured bronze in the Men’s Discus Throw F37 with a personal best of 57.04m, marking a significant improvement on India’s seventh-place finish in the event at the 2022 edition.
In the jumping events, India secured a one-two finish in the Men’s High Jump T44. Defending champion Praveen Kumar cleared a Games Record height of 2.05m to win gold, while Banti took silver with a personal best of 1.92m. Shailesh Kumar won bronze in the Men’s Long Jump T42 with a Games Record jump of 5.57m, achieved on his fifth attempt.
On the track, Dilip Gavit Mahadu won gold in the Men’s 100m T47 in 10.69 seconds, with Mohammed Basil taking silver in 10.72 seconds. Anubhav Choudhary won bronze in the Men’s 100m T35 with a personal best of 12.72 seconds, while Pranav Desai claimed bronze in the Men’s 100m T64 in 11.96 seconds. Sharath Makanahalli also secured bronze in the Men’s 1500m T12 with a season-best time of 4:11.01. Meanwhile, Rakeshbhai Bhatt clocked a personal best of 11.50 seconds in the Men’s 100m T37.
There was success for India in other sports too, with the archers continuing their superb run.
In para archery, Sheetal Devi and Payal Nag won silver in the Para Compound Women’s Doubles event, losing 141–150 to China’s Xu Xueqing and Zhao Jing in a spirited final.
(IANS)
