India’s Outstanding Performance At Para Asian Games 2026
Para Asian Games Saw India Win 114 Medals, Including 30 Golds, To Finish Fourth in Japan.
✍️ By Shri Pradeep Trivedi
English translation adapted from the original Gujarati article without changes to the content or experiences
described by the author.
Freelance Writer | Author | Sports Analyst | Lecturer | Sports Journalist
At the fifth Para Asian Games, held in Aichi and Nagoya, Japan, India’s and Gujarat’s brave athletes delivered their best performances. They won a total of 114 medals and wrote a new chapter in history.
For the first time in the history of the Para Asian Games, India won more than 110 medals. India also won 30 gold medals for the first time and secured a proud fourth place in the medal table, giving the country a special place in the Asian Games.
India’s Performance Since 2010
When the Para Asian Games began in Guangzhou in 2010, India won only 14 medals, including one gold medal. India finished 15th in the medal table.
At the second Para Asian Games, held in Incheon in 2014, India won 33 medals, including just three gold medals. India again finished 15th in the medal table. One of those three gold medals was won by Gujarat’s athlete Parul Parmar in badminton. It was Gujarat’s first gold medal at the Para Asian Games.
At the third Para Asian Games, held in Jakarta in 2018, India won more than 10 gold medals for the first time. The country won 15 gold medals and 72 medals in total. India also reached the top 10 for the first time, finishing ninth in the medal table.
The Century of Medals
India first won more than 100 medals at the fourth Para Asian Games, held in Hangzhou in 2022. India won 27 gold, 32 silver and 49 bronze medals, taking its total to 108. The country finished sixth in the medal table for the first time.
At the fifth Para Asian Games, which have just ended in 2026, India delivered a historic performance. It won 30 gold, 35 silver and 49 bronze medals, taking its total to 114. India secured a proud fourth place in the medal table.
Historic Performance in 2026
A total of 168 Indian athletes took part in the fifth Para Asian Games. Around 26 athletes won more than one medal. Six athletes made history by winning two gold medals each.
Double Gold Medal Success
Female athlete Mona Agarwal won gold in the 10-metre air rifle and 50-metre air rifle events in shooting.
Dilip Gaonvit won gold in the 100-metre and 400-metre races in athletics.
Pranav Soorma won gold in the discus throw and club throw events in athletics.
Nishad Kumar won gold in the long jump and high jump events in athletics.
Simran Sharma won gold in the 100-metre and 200-metre races in athletics.
Sheetal Devi won gold in the individual and mixed team events in archery.
Double Silver Medal Success
Female athlete Preeti Pal won two silver medals in athletics, in the 100-metre and 200-metre races.
Ravi Budhigana won two silver medals in swimming.
One Gold and One Silver or Bronze Medal
Four athletes won two medals each, including one gold medal and one silver or bronze medal.
Nitesh Kumar won gold in badminton singles and silver in mixed doubles.
Sandeep won gold in the 400-metre race and bronze in the 100-metre race in athletics.
Haney won gold in the javelin throw and bronze in the discus throw in athletics.
Shailesh Kumar won gold in the high jump and bronze in the long jump in athletics.
Two Medals: One Silver and One Bronze
Three athletes won two medals each, one silver and one bronze.
Gujarat’s female athlete Tejal Damor won silver in the 400-metre race and bronze in the 200-metre race in athletics.
Nithya Sre Sivan won silver in badminton singles and bronze in mixed doubles.
Pramod Bhagat won silver in badminton singles and bronze in mixed doubles.
Double Bronze Medal Success
Five athletes won two bronze medals each.
Gujarat’s sprinter Rakesh Bhatt won bronze in the 100-metre and 200-metre races in athletics.
Bhavina Patel, Gujarat’s first Paralympian, won bronze in table tennis singles and mixed doubles.
Ravanni Valasannai won bronze in the 400-metre and 1,500-metre races in athletics.
Manisha Ramadass won bronze in badminton singles and mixed doubles.
Jehan Madan and Shubham Wadhwa won two bronze medals each in table tennis, in singles and doubles.
Three Medals for One Athlete
Four athletes had the honour of winning three medals each.
Sheetal Devi won two gold medals and one silver medal in archery.
Ravi Budhigana won two silver medals and one bronze medal in swimming.
Himanshu Nandalal won three bronze medals in swimming.
Thulasimathi Murugesan won three medals in women’s badminton.
India Wins All Three Medals in Four Events
India won all three medals in four athletics events, taking gold, silver and bronze in each event.
In the men’s discus throw, Devendra Kumar won gold, Rakesh won silver and Pradeep Kumar won bronze.
In the men’s shot put, Sachin Khilari won gold with a Games record. Mohammed Yasser won silver and Parveen won bronze.
In the men’s javelin throw, Sumit Antil won gold, Mahendra Gurjar won silver and Sandeep Sanjay Sagar won bronze.
In the men’s high jump, Shailesh Kumar won gold, Varun Bhati won silver and Rahul Saroha won bronze.
Historic Achievements
Mona Agarwal (Shooting)
In the women’s 10-metre air rifle qualification round, Mona Agarwal scored 629.1 points and set an Asian Para Games record. She was only 0.3 points short of the world record of 629.4 points.
In the final, she scored 250.00 points and set a new Games record.
Sheetal Devi (Archery)
In the women’s compound archery ranking round, Sheetal Devi scored 704 out of 720 points, matching the world record.
She also broke her own Asian record of 698 points, set in Bangkok, by improving it by six points.
In the mixed team compound event, she and Toman Kumar scored 1,402 points and set a new world record. The previous record was 1,400 points.
On the very first day, India’s female shooting stars Mona Agarwal and Avani Lekhara won gold and silver medals in shooting.
Gujarat’s female runner Anjana Ben Bumbadiya made history by winning gold in the women’s 400-metre race in just 59.97 seconds, finishing the race in less than one minute. Gujarat won its first gold medal in athletics.
Sumit Antil won gold in the javelin throw with a distance of 72.46 metres. He also led India’s clean sweep in the event. At the 2022 Para Asian Games, he had set a world record with a throw of 73.29 metres.
Player of the Games 2026
If anyone deserves the honour of being called the “Player of the Games” at the fifth Para Asian Games, it is archer Sheetal Devi.
During these Para Asian Games, Sheetal Devi broke world records in archery on two occasions. She matched the world record held by Turkey’s Oznur Cure in the individual ranking round with a score of 704 out of 720 points.
She improved her own Asian record from 698 to 704 points, an increase of six points. In the mixed team event, she set a new world record with a score of 1,402 out of 1,440 points.
On the first day of the Games, she set a world record in the qualification round. On the third day, she won gold in the individual event. On the fourth day, she won gold in the mixed team event and silver in doubles. She finished the Games with two gold medals and one silver medal, creating history.
Sheetal played an important role in making India a leading power in archery.
She is a 19-year-old archer from the small village of Kishtwar in Jammu and Kashmir. She was born without arms.
In 2019, Army coach Kuldeep Vedwan saw her taking part in an Army youth event and noticed her talent in archery. Within just two years, he helped her become the world number one.
Sheetal Devi was born with phocomelia, a condition that affects the growth of the limbs. However, she never gave up. She uses her feet to aim and shoot her arrows. She pulls the bowstring using her tongue and teeth. Her achievement is truly remarkable!
Sheetal Devi is the world’s only armless archer and a world record holder. At the 2024 Paralympics in Paris, she won the honour of claiming a bronze medal.
Thus, at the fifth Para Asian Games, India sent only 168 athletes and delivered its best performance in the history of the competition. The country won a record 114 medals, including 30 gold medals.
Acknowledgement:
Newz Daddy extends sincere thanks to Shri Pradeep Trivedi, author, sports analyst and journalist, for sharing his memorable Asian Games details. We also appreciate the photographs and personal experiences that have enriched this article.
