India continued its strong campaign at the Asian Para Games 2026 in Japan, taking its medal tally to 22 by October 20. The Indian contingent has won five gold, eight silver and nine bronze medals, moving into sixth place in the overall standings after a series of impressive performances across athletics, shooting, powerlifting and para table tennis.
The highlight of the second day was Deepthi Jeevanji’s gold medal in the women’s 400m T20 event. The Indian athlete clocked 56.36 seconds to set a new Asian Para Games record. She finished comfortably ahead of Japan’s Niina Kanno, who took silver in 58.92 seconds, while Japan’s Akane Kato secured bronze.
Deepthi’s victory added India’s fifth gold medal to the tally and continued the momentum created on the opening day. The 23-year-old, who won bronze at the Paris 2024 Paralympics, has emerged as one of India’s leading para-athletes. Her performance in Nagoya underlined the country’s growing strength in para-athletics.
India had opened its campaign on October 19 with 11 medals, including four gold, five silver and two bronze. The opening-day gold medals came from shooter Mona Agarwal, long jumper Nishad Kumar, middle-distance runner Soumya and javelin thrower Rinku Hooda.
Mona Agarwal won gold in the women’s 10m air rifle standing SH1 event with 250 points, setting a Games record. India also secured a one-two finish, with Avani Lekhara winning silver after scoring 249.6 points. The close result highlighted the strength of India’s para-shooting team.
Nishad Kumar won the men’s long jump T47 gold with a best effort of 7.11 metres. Soumya topped the women’s 1500m T12/T13 race in 5 minutes 12.39 seconds, while Radha Venkatesh secured silver in the same event. Rinku won gold in the men’s javelin F46 category with a throw of 65.11 metres. Ajeet Singh took silver after recording 65.02 metres.
India also collected medals in judo and swimming on the opening day. Kokila won silver in the women’s J2 52kg category, while Kapil Parmar claimed bronze in the men’s J1 70kg event. Ravi Karthik Budigina secured silver in the men’s 100m freestyle S13 swimming event. Ravanni Valasanaini won bronze in the women’s 1500m T11 race.
The second day brought further success in shooting and powerlifting. Manish Narwal won silver in the men’s 10m air pistol SH1 final, scoring 233.7 points. South Korea’s Jo Jeongdu took gold with an Asian Para Games record of 241.3 points. Manish’s silver also secured India a quota place for the 2028 Los Angeles Paralympics.
India earned another silver through Ashok in para powerlifting. He finished second with a best lift of 192kg in the men’s event, marking the country’s first medal in para powerlifting at these Games. The result added another sport to India’s growing list of medal-winning disciplines.
In the men’s javelin F53/F54 event, Pradeep Kumar won silver and Ayush Verma secured bronze. Pradeep recorded a best throw of 27.45 metres in the F54 category, while Ayush finished third in F53 with 17.88 metres. Praveen Sharma also added bronze in the men’s shot put F11 event with a personal-best throw of 13.86 metres.
Para table tennis contributed several medals on Tuesday. Bhavina Patel, Sonalben Patel, Prachi Pandey and Baby Sahana Ravi won bronze medals after reaching the women’s singles semifinals in their respective classes. Their performances were particularly significant for India’s para table tennis programme, which has continued to expand its presence at major international competitions.
India’s campaign has also produced a notable performance in para archery. Sheetal Devi equalled the world record in the women’s compound qualification round with 704 points, setting an Asian record. She later advanced to the individual final, keeping India in contention for another gold medal. Sheetal and Rakesh Kumar had also set a world record in the mixed team event.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Indian athletes for their performances, praising their determination and achievements. The early results have provided a boost to the contingent as it looks to improve on its previous Asian Para Games campaign.
India won a record 111 medals at the 2022 edition in Hangzhou, including 29 gold, 31 silver and 51 bronze. The current team will be aiming to build on that achievement as competition continues in Aichi-Nagoya.
With medals coming from a wide range of sports, India has made a promising start to the 2026 Asian Para Games. The coming days will bring further opportunities in athletics, archery, shooting, badminton and other events. The focus will now be on maintaining consistency, converting strong performances into podium finishes and improving India’s position in the medal table.
