India Enter Into Top Five After Stunning Medal Haul At Asian Para Games

India storm into top five after stunning medal haul at Asian Para games© Getty

India's track-and-field contingent went on a rampage, collecting 22 medals, including five gold, to propel the country to fifth place in the overall standings, with sprinter Simran, high jumper Praveen Kumar and shot-putter Sachin Khilari also creating new Games records in their respective events. Apart from Simran (women's 100m T12), Praveen (men's high jump T44/64) and Sachin (men's shot put F46), the other gold medallists for India were Dilip Gavit (men's 100m T47) and Ayush Verma (men's shot put F53). Medals also came from para-archery, para-swimming and powerlifting as India steadily moved towards a strong overall performance in the eight-day extravaganza that will end on Saturday.

But none of the performances came remotely close to the power-packed show put on by India's athletics contingent, which accounted for 13 of the 14 gold medals that the country had secured so far at the Games.

India have also claimed 22 silver medals (14 from athletics) and 26 bronze medals (15 from athletics) for an overall tally of 62.

Simran was among the star performers as the visually impaired runner clinched the 100m gold to add to her 200m triumph.

Both podium finishes came with Games records within the space of 24 hours, despite the fatigue she is battling due to limited dietary options as a strict vegetarian.

Armless compound archer Sheetal Devi, who is on course for multiple medals, picked up a women's doubles silver with Payal Nag after the pair lost to China in the final.

In swimming, visually impaired Ravi Kartik Budigina won his second silver of the Games, claiming the men's 100m backstroke medal in the S13 category.

Another swimmer to pick up a second Games medal was Himanshu Nandal, who took bronze in the men's 100m breaststroke S11 event. Nandal is also visually impaired.

While Ravi clocked 1:10.10 to finish second in a four-swimmer field, Nandal returned a time of 1:20.72.

India were assured of three medals in the men's singles SL4 (moderate lower-limb impairment) badminton competition after defending champion Suhas LY, Naveen Sivakumar and Abhijeet Sakhuja advanced to the semifinals.

The men's doubles pair of Krishna Nagar and Sivarajan Solaimalai picked up the SH6 (short stature) silver medal after finishing second in the group stage featuring just four teams. Given the lack of competition, medals were awarded based on group standings instead of knockout matches.

Polio-afflicted powerlifter Kasthuri Rajamani won a silver medal in the women's 67kg category for the biggest achievement of her career.

The Athletics March

India's athletics contingent is hoping to win medals in 60 of the 62 events it is participating in. Given its performance so far, that target appears well within reach, with two full days of competition still remaining. The contingent has already collected 41 medals.

Three members of the contingent have won two medals each so far. Preeti Pal, a double bronze medallist at the 2024 Paralympics, is among them. On Wednesday, she won silver in the women's 100m T35 event, a category for athletes with cerebral palsy.

She had also finished second in the women's 200m T35 event on Tuesday.

Simran won the 100m competition with a Games-record time of 12.02 seconds, once again finishing ahead of Iran's Hajar Safarzadeh, who clocked 12.30 seconds.

Ayush Verma gave India the first para-athletics gold of the day in the men's shot put F53 event, followed by Praveen Kumar (men's high jump T44/64) and Sachin Khilari (men's shot put F46).

India also grabbed four silver medals in the morning session through Banti (men's high jump T44/64), Bhagyashri Jadhav (women's shot put F34), Mohd Yasser (men's shot put F46) and Manjeet (men's javelin F12/13).

Anubhav Choudhary (men's 100m T35), Parveen (men's shot put F46) and Rakeshbhai Bhatt (men's 100m T37) won a bronze medal each.

Earlier, Dilip Gavit won gold in the men's 100m T46/T47 combined event, while compatriot Mohammed Morssinganakath Basil clinched silver in the same event.

The 23-year-old Gavit, a T46 athlete, clocked 10.69 seconds to finish on top. Basil, a T47 athlete, took silver with a Games-record time of 10.72 seconds.

Athletes from two or more classifications can be clubbed together in a combined event to ensure there are enough participants.

The T46 and T47 categories are for athletes with upper-limb impairments. The primary difference between the two classifications lies in the severity and location of the impairment.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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