Asian Para Games: India Clinch 4 Gold Medals, Mona and Nishad Lead 11-Medal Haul on October 19

Asian Para Games: Mona Agarwal, Nishad Kumar Power India to Four Golds in 11-Medal Haul

India enjoyed a memorable day at the Asian Para Games in Nagoya on Monday, October 19, winning four gold medals as the contingent collected 11 medals across multiple disciplines. Mona Agarwal and Nishad Kumar led the charge, while archer Sheetal Devi made headlines with a world-record-equalling performance followed by a new world mark in the mixed team event.

Sheetal equalled the world record in the women’s compound qualification round before joining forces with Rakesh Kumar to establish a new world record in the mixed team competition. Their achievements highlighted India’s growing prowess in para-archery.

Indian athletes also registered several one-two finishes, underlining the team’s strength across disciplines and raising hopes of further medal success in the days ahead.

India finished the day fourth in the medal table. China opened up an early lead, while Japan and Uzbekistan occupied positions ahead of India with eight and six gold medals, respectively.

MONA EDGES AVANI IN RECORD-BREAKING SHOOTING FINAL
Mona Agarwal staged a stunning comeback to win gold in the women’s 10m air rifle SH1 final, overcoming a sixth-place position to defeat defending champion Avani Lekhara in a closely fought contest.

Mona scored 250.0 points, setting an Asian Para Games record, while Avani finished second with 249.6 points. The narrow 0.4-point margin separated the two Indian shooters in a final that showcased their remarkable consistency under pressure.

The victory added another achievement to Mona’s growing career. She won bronze at the 2024 Paris Paralympics and has continued to build momentum ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Paralympics. She also secured a quota place at last month’s WSPS World Championships in Changwon, South Korea, where she earned silver.

Mona had dominated the qualification round with 629.1 points, setting an Asian Para Games record and finishing ahead of Avani, who scored 626.4. Their strong qualifying performances set the stage for an exciting all-Indian final.

NISHAD, SOUMYA AND RINKU LEAD ATHLETICS GOLD RUSH
India’s para-athletes delivered another impressive performance, with Nishad Kumar, Soumya and Rinku securing gold medals in their respective events.

Nishad, a two-time Paralympic silver-medallist, made a winning start to his international long-jump campaign, leaping 7.11 metres to take gold in the men’s event. Despite competing internationally in the discipline for the first time, he delivered a composed performance to finish on top.

Soumya claimed gold in the women’s 1500m T12/T13 event with a personal-best time of 5:12.39. Fellow Indian Venkatesh Radha finished second in 5:30.90, ensuring another one-two finish for the country.

Ravanni Valasanaini added a bronze medal in the women’s T11 event after the original third-place finisher, Rakshitha Raju, was disqualified for a technical breach of regulations relating to clothing, footwear and bibs.

India completed another one-two finish in the men’s F46 javelin event. Rinku produced a season-best throw of 65.11 metres on his final attempt to edge Ajeet Singh, who recorded 65.02 metres. Ajeet took silver, giving India both top positions on the podium.

KOKILA WINS SILVER, KAPIL SETTLES FOR JUDO BRONZE
India’s visually impaired judokas contributed two medals to the growing tally, with Kokila winning silver and Kapil Parmar taking bronze.

Kokila finished second in the women’s J2 -52kg category after losing the final to Kyrgyzstan’s Aibike Ulanbek Kyzy. The bronze-medallist from the previous Asian Para Games improved her performance to secure silver this time.

Kapil, who had won silver at the previous edition, claimed bronze in the men’s J1 -70kg division. He narrowly lost his semifinal 0-1 to Indonesia’s Junaedi but bounced back in the bronze-medal match, defeating Indonesia’s Ahnaf Rafli Shidqi by an identical margin.

RAVI KARTHIK SECURES SWIMMING SILVER
Ravi Karthik Budigina continued India’s medal-winning run by claiming silver in the men’s 100m freestyle S13 event.

He clocked 56.68 seconds to secure a podium finish in the category for swimmers with relatively minor visual impairments.

BHAVINA, PRACHI AND SONALBEN BOOK TABLE TENNIS SEMIFINAL SPOTS
India strengthened its medal prospects in para-table tennis, with Bhavina Patel, Prachi Pandey and Sonalben advancing to the semifinals in their respective women’s singles categories.

Prachi created a milestone by ensuring India’s first-ever Para Asian Games medal in women’s Class 6. She defeated Thailand’s Kanokporn Phathumchai 11-5, 11-4, 11-13, 12-10 in her second group match to progress to the last four.

Sonalben advanced in Class 3 after defeating Thailand’s Dararat Asayut 3-1 in the quarterfinal. She recovered from a second-game loss to win 11-7, 8-11, 11-5, 11-5.

Bhavina, a Paralympic silver-medallist and former Commonwealth Games gold-medallist, also secured a semifinal berth in the Class 4-5 category. After losing the first game 8-11 against China’s Zhang Miao, she produced a strong comeback to win 11-6, 11-1, 11-6.

NITESH AND THULASIMATHI ASSURE INDIA OF BADMINTON MEDAL
India’s para-badminton campaign received another boost as Nitesh Kumar and Thulasimathi Murugesan reached the semifinals of the mixed doubles SL3-SU5 event, guaranteeing the country at least a bronze medal.

The Indian duo topped Group B unbeaten. Following a walkover in their opening match against China’s Yang Jianyuan and Yang Qiuxia, they defeated Chen Pengfei and Huang Zixuan of China 21-4, 21-18 in 23 minutes at the Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium.

Nitesh, the Paris Paralympics champion, also began his men’s singles SL3 campaign with a 21-13, 21-15 win over South Korea’s Joo Dongjae in Group A.

Ruthick Ragupathi maintained India’s winning momentum in the men’s singles SU5 Group C event, beating Thailand’s Somsiri Pricha 21-12, 21-12.

India’s four gold medals and overall 11-medal haul on October 19 marked a strong start to its campaign in Nagoya. With athletes delivering across shooting, athletics, judo, swimming, table tennis and badminton, the contingent will look to build on the momentum and challenge the leading nations in the coming days.