Asian Para Games: Kokila stuns world champion en route to judo silver

Kokila secures silver (Agency Images)

India’s Kokila upgraded her bronze medal from the previous Asian Para Games to silver at the 2026 edition in Aichi-Nagoya, overcoming reigning world champion Yi Liu in the semifinals before falling to Kyrgyzstan’s Aibike Ulanbek Kyzy in the women’s J2 -52kg final on Monday.The Indian judoka’s title hopes, however, ended abruptly as Ulanbek Kyzy secured an ippon in just 21 seconds at the Aichi Prefectural Martial Arts Hall to clinch gold.

Kokila stuns reigning world champion to reach final

Kokila produced one of the standout performances of her campaign in the semifinals, defeating China’s Liu to book her place in the gold-medal bout. The Indian registered a waza-ari and a yuko in a closely contested encounter, while Liu also scored a waza-ari.

Kokila received a shido penalty for a minor rule infringement but held on to secure a memorable victory.However, she was unable to carry that momentum into the final, where Ulanbek Kyzy delivered a decisive finish almost immediately to deny the Indian a continental title.

Indian judoka improves on Hangzhou bronze

Despite the disappointment of missing out on gold, Kokila’s silver medal marks a step forward from her bronze in the women’s -48kg category at the previous Asian Para Games in Hangzhou.

Competing in the -52kg division this time, she progressed to the final and improved her medal standing at the continental event.A visually impaired judoka from Haryana’s Jind district, Kokila has also represented India at the Paris 2024 Paralympics. She competes in the J2 classification, which accommodates judokas with varying degrees of visual impairment.Her victory over Liu, the reigning world champion, underlined her ability to challenge the leading names in international para-judo. Although the final proved a brief and difficult outing, Kokila leaves Aichi-Nagoya with silver and another significant milestone in her international career.