Asian Para Games: Sheetal Devi’s double gold, Shailesh Kumar-led podium sweep headline India’s finest day but

NEW DELHI: India loved its finest day on the Asian Para Games 2026 on Thursday, profitable 26 medals, together with seven golds, as a outstanding medal rush throughout athletics, archery, swimming, badminton and desk tennis took the nation’s general tally to 88.Armless archer Sheetal Devi led the cost with two gold medals in lower than two hours, whereas the track-and-field contingent remained India’s largest contributor. Suvarna Raj, Shailesh Kumar, Anjanaben Bumbadiya, Dilip Mahadu Gavit and Solairaj Dharmaraj have been among the many different gold medallists on a memorable day for the Indian contingent.India’s tally now stands at 21 gold, 26 silver and 41 bronze medals. The seven golds helped the nation reclaim fourth place within the standings after it slipped to sixth on Day 2 and fifth on Day 3.

Sheetal Devi strikes twice, Swati Chaudhary makes historical past

Sheetal, the 19-year-old reigning global community champion and global community No. 1, started her golden run by teaming up with Toman Kumar to defend India’s combined workforce title. The Indian duo beat Indonesia’s Teodora Audi Ayudia Ferelly and Ken Swagumilang 151-148.Less than two hours later, Sheetal returned to the vary for the ladies’s particular person ultimate. After overcoming a four-point deficit, she defeated Singapore’s Alim Nur Syahidah 142-139 to repeat her triumph from the Hangzhou 2023 Asian Para Games.India additionally celebrated a historic achievement in archery as Swati Chaudhary received the nation’s first-ever Asian Para Games medal within the W1 class. She settled for silver after dropping 4-6 to China’s Cen Mengkan within the ladies’s particular person ultimate.ALSO READ: Where India stands in medal tally after best day with 26 medals, including 7 golds

Athletics powers India’s seven-gold haul

The day started with Suvarna Raj profitable gold within the ladies’s F54 discus throw with a finest effort of 15.66m. The 44-year-old wheelchair athlete recorded 4 throws past 15 metres to safe the most important win of her profession.India then loved a podium sweep within the males’s excessive bounce T63 occasion. Shailesh Kumar, who had received bronze within the lengthy bounce on Wednesday, led the best way with a Games-record effort of 1.89m. Former Paralympic bronze medallist Varun Bhati took silver with a season’s better of 1.84m, whereas Rahul accomplished the all-Indian podium with a bounce of 1.81m.Anjanaben Bumbadiya received the ladies’s 400m T47 gold in 59.97 seconds, with compatriot Jayanti Behera taking silver in 1:00.65. Dilip Mahadu Gavit, who had received the boys’s 100m T47 gold on Wednesday, added one other title by profitable the boys’s 400m T47 ultimate in 48.27 seconds.Solairaj Dharmaraj offered a becoming end to the day’s athletics motion, efficiently defending his males’s lengthy bounce T44/T62/T64 title with an Asian-record effort of seven.15m. Malaysia’s Eddy Bernard received silver with 6.34m, whereas Japan’s Yuma Tamaki took bronze with a personal-best 6.89m.Tejalben Damor additionally added to India’s medal rely, profitable silver within the ladies’s 400m T12 in 57.60 seconds. The visually impaired athlete had earlier claimed bronze within the 200m T12 occasion.

Four extra swimming medals, Ravi Budigina completes hat-trick

India added 4 medals within the pool, taking its general swimming haul to 10, though a gold remained elusive.Eighteen-year-old Ravi Budigina secured bronze within the males’s 50m freestyle S13 with a time of 25.89 seconds. It was his third medal of the Games, following silver-medal finishes within the 100m backstroke and freestyle occasions.Kapil Kumar received silver within the males’s 400m freestyle S10 in 4:38.44, ending behind Japan’s Akito Minai, who set a Games file of 4:27.44. Swatik Patil claimed bronze within the males’s 100m breaststroke SB9 in 1:13.77, whereas Tejas Nandakumar took bronze within the males’s 100m backstroke S7 with a time of 1:18.58.

Indian shuttlers assured of a number of badminton medals

India’s para-shuttlers additionally loved a productive day, with Pramod Bhagat and Nitesh Kumar organising an all-Indian males’s singles SL3 ultimate.Six-time global community champion and Tokyo Paralympic gold medallist Bhagat survived a marathon two-hour-and-nine-minute semifinal in opposition to South Korea’s Lee Seunghu, profitable 16-21, 21-18, 21-17.Paris Paralympic champion Nitesh had earlier defeated Indonesia’s M Imran 21-19, 21-16 to achieve the ultimate. He additionally superior to the combined doubles SL3-SU5 ultimate with Thulasimathi Murugesan after the Indian pair beat China’s Li Mingpin and Xiao Zuxian 21-19, 14-21, 21-17.Naveen Sivakumar reached the boys’s singles SL4 ultimate, whereas Indian shuttlers collected 5 bronze medals throughout different occasions.

Bhavina Patel, Subham Wadhwa win desk tennis bronze

India’s medal rush prolonged to para-table tennis, the place Bhavina Patel and Subham Wadhwa secured bronze in combined doubles XD7.The Indian pair misplaced 6-11, 11-8, 5-11, 8-11 to South Korea’s Jang Yeongjin and Lee Migyu within the semifinals after beating Japan’s Kimie Bessho and Masanori Uno 11-9, 11-3, 11-6 within the quarterfinals.China continued to dominate the general standings, crossing 300 medals to achieve 313, together with 149 golds. Hosts Japan have been second with 136 medals, together with 40 gold, whereas Uzbekistan occupied third place with 117 medals, together with 37 gold.India’s seven-gold day lifted the contingent again to fourth place, with 88 medals general and momentum constructing throughout a number of disciplines.