Nagoya's 114 Medals: Why India's Para Sporting Revolution Must Go Beyond Celebration

Para archer Sheetal Devi clinched three medals at Asian Para Games 2026© Getty

It has been a week since the Asian Para Games have come to an end in Nagoya. India's performance, the best ever in history, of 114 medals with 30 gold medals has brought multiple questions to the fore. Is this an opportunity to mainstream para sport and address the issue of discrimination of para sports stars? Can this positivity be sustained and if so how? Will the country move to cricket once more in two days when the India versus New Zealand ODI's start and will these stars be relegated to the back burner? Can we move from the mindset of one or the other to a very different mindset of one and the other and celebrate multi sport?

First, this is the best Asian Para Games for a reason. In Hangzhou in 2023 India had sent a team of 303 athletes and had won 108 medals. (The number was 111 and was then pruned to 108 when 3 medals were lost due to dope violations). Of the 108 medals, 29 of them were gold medals. In Nagoya India had sent a team of 167 athletes and returned with a haul of 114 medals including 30 gold medals. Clearly, the growth has been exponential and the progress mind blowing. In para sport at least the dream of making it to the top 15 of the world in LA28 seems to be a very realistic one.

Now sample some stories and you will know why these athletes need to be celebrated more. Take the case of Pradeep Kumar for example. Pradeep was married in 2003-4 and was in his village with his wife when he witnessed a few miscreants sexually harass a couple of village women. He protested and in return was fired 3 bullets, which have since confined him to a wheelchair. For the first 10 years, he was an object of ridicule and sympathy. Some even suggested his life was futile and it was better to give it all up. In 2015 he saw wheelchair Rugby for the first time on television and learnt of para sport. That's what got him to try his hand at sport and now in 2026 he is Asian Para Games silver medallist.

Mona Agarwal, India's flag bearer in Nagoya with two gold medals including a world record and multiple Asian records, is another great story. Mona hadn't picked up a gun ahead of 2021. She had no idea about rifle shooting and it was only after her husband was diagnosed with a neurological issue, that she decided to do something in sport to put food on the table. "I had to do something for the family. My husband was also a para athlete but this neurological issue meant he couldn't continue playing. My in laws, who are a great support, look after my two young children and the family funds are all spent in tending to my husband's health needs", she said.

It meant there was no money left to support her endeavours and if she wanted to pursue sport, she would have to do it all by herself. "I decided to borrow money from friends and buy all the equipment. I always knew it was a very big risk but then I was determined to make it count and do something the family would be proud of. I now hope to be able to pay off my debts", she had said.

Since then Mona has indeed paid off her debts and come a long way. From becoming the first Indian shooter to qualify for LA28 to winning multiple gold medals in Nagoya, it has been quite a journey.

The point is every athlete who won a medal in Nagoya and even the ones who did not are great stories of inspiration. They represent 15 percent of India and yet have been confined to the margins. They don't need our sympathy. Rather, we need to treat them with empathy and respect and celebrate them as athletes who have won laurels for the country.

Nagoya has set the stage. India is clearly on the cusp. The Prime Minister has spoken about the success of para sport and all over the country these athletes are being celebrated and feted. The timing is perfect and we can see that a revolution is underway. This is where each one of us have a role to play. We need to celebrate these athletes and ensure the euphoria is sustained.

It can't be that India continues to be a single sport country. It is never this or that. Rather, as mentioned earlier, it is always this and that. While you watch and celebrate Virat and Rohit, also celebrate Pradeep and Mona. They are as much a part of the India story as the cricketers and if India truly wants to be 'viksit' over a period of time, our treatment of para sports stars has to change once and for all.

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