India's para-athletes kept the medals flowing on Day 4 of the 5th Asian Para Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, as Suvarna Raj clinched gold in the women's discus throw F54 and a wave of badminton bronzes helped the contingent consolidate fifth place in the overall standings.
With the tally rising through the day to around 64-69 medals -- including 15 gold, 22 silver and 27 to 32 bronze -- India remained ahead of a strong field, trailing only China, Uzbekistan, Japan and South Korea.
The Games, which opened on October 18 and run until October 24, have seen the Indian contingent deliver a string of title defences, Games Records and all-Indian podiums. Thursday's haul kept that momentum alive, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi once again took to X to congratulate the medal winners.
Suvarna Raj Starts the Day With Gold
India's first gold of the day came in the women's discus throw F54 event, where Suvarna Raj produced a commanding performance. Competing in a six-athlete field, she recorded four throws beyond the 15-metre mark across her six attempts, with her fifth attempt -- a best effort of 15.66 metres -- securing the top podium position. Her gold was India's 15th at the Games.
Iran's Shahla Hadidi took silver with a best throw of 15.45 metres, while Vietnam's Nguyen Thi Ngoc Thuy claimed bronze with 14.65 metres. Suvarna's consistency across the series underlined her class, and her victory marked a strong start to the day for the Indian contingent.
Archery Silver for Swati Chaudhary
In para archery, Swati Chaudhary earned the silver medal in the women's W1 individual event after a closely fought 4-6 defeat to China's Mengkan Cen. The silver added to India's growing collection across disciplines and demonstrated the depth of the contingent's archery programme.
A Medal Rush on the Badminton Courts
The badminton arena produced the day's largest single-sport contribution. Indian para shuttlers collected a string of bronzes after semifinal defeats, in what became a parade of third-place finishes for the contingent.
Manisha Ramadass and Pramod Bhagat settled for bronze in the mixed doubles SL3-SU5 event after losing their semifinal 21-16, 13-21, 17-21 to Indonesia's world No. 1 pair Leani Ratri Oktila and Hikmat Ramdani. It is the pair's second consecutive bronze in the event, having also finished third at the previous edition of the Games.
Krishna Nagar and Nithya Sre secured bronze in the mixed doubles SH6 category after a straight-games defeat to Indonesia's Rina Marlina and Subhan. In the men's singles SL4 semifinals, Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj -- the IAS officer who balances his administrative duties with an elite sporting career -- narrowly lost 1-2 to Indonesia's Fredy Setiawan in a tense contest, taking bronze.
Abhijeet Sakhuja added another bronze in the same event after falling to fellow Indian Naveen Sivakumar in an all-Indian semifinal clash.
Debutant Sanjana Kumari clinched bronze in the women's singles SL3 event, her campaign ending in the semifinals against Japan's Shino Kawai. Her medal, won on her first appearance at the continental Games, was among the day's most encouraging stories.
The day's results also set up an exciting final: Thulasimathi Murugesan and Nitesh Kumar defeated China's Li Mingpan and Xiao Zuxian 21-19, 14-21, 21-17 to reach the mixed doubles SL3-SU5 final, where they will face the same Indonesian pair that beat their compatriots -- keeping India's gold hopes alive in the discipline.
Athletics Finals on the Horizon
In para athletics, several Indians booked their places in finals scheduled later in the day. Bhavik Bharwad finished second and Dilip Gavit third in their respective men's 400m T47 heats, both advancing. Tejalben Damor topped her women's 400m T12 heat, while Ravanni Valasanaini finished third in the women's 400m T11 heats with a personal-best time of 1:03.80.
The swimming heats also saw Indians in contention: Swatik Patil finished third in the men's 100m breaststroke SB9 heats, Ravi Karthik Budigina came fourth in the men's 50m freestyle S13 heats, Tejas Nandakumar and Gopichand Lingutla finished fourth and sixth in the men's 100m backstroke S7 heats, and Himanshu Nandal finished fourth in the men's 50m freestyle S11 heats.
PM Modi's Congratulations and the Medal Picture
Prime Minister Modi's posts on X praised the athletes' determination, consistency and dedication across athletics, swimming, para powerlifting and archery. He called shot put champion Sachin Khilari an "exemplary champion", hailing his successful title defence -- Khilari retained his gold in the men's shot put F46 with a season-best throw, leading an all-Indian podium sweep with Mohd Yasser taking silver and Parveen securing bronze.
The Prime Minister also lauded Praveen Kumar, who defended his men's high jump T64 title and broke his own Games Record, with Banti taking silver in the same event. Simran won gold in the women's 100m T12 with a new Games Record, while Dilip Gavit claimed gold in the men's 100m T47 and Mohammad Basil M took silver after improving on his own Games Record from the heats.
Ayush Verma won gold in the men's shot put F53, adding to his javelin bronze to finish his debut Asian Para Games campaign with two medals. Preeti Pal secured silver in the women's 100m T35, following her silver in the 200m.
At the top of the table, China maintained a commanding lead with well over 100 gold medals and more than 226 total, while Uzbekistan and Japan battled for second and third. South Korea sat fourth, just ahead of India, with Iran and Thailand close behind the Indian contingent.
India's Fifth-Place Fight
India's rise to fifth -- climbing from sixth earlier in the Games -- reflects the breadth of its para-sports programme. From established champions like Khilari and Praveen Kumar to debutants like Ayush Verma and Sanjana Kumari, the contingent has found podiums across athletics, swimming, powerlifting, archery and badminton.
With three days of competition remaining until the October 24 closing, and several finals featuring Indians on Thursday itself, the tally is expected to keep growing.
For a contingent that has already produced title defences, Games Records, personal bests and all-Indian podiums, Day 4 was less about any single moment and more about sustained excellence -- the kind that turns a good Games into a landmark one.
(Reporting based on DD India, Republic World, Lokmat Times, The Sunday Guardian, The News Mill and LatestLY.)