India's para athletes brought down the curtain on a record-breaking campaign at the 5th Asian Para Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, on October 23, finishing fourth in the overall medal standings with an unprecedented haul of 114 medals — 30 gold, 35 silver and 49 bronze.
With no Indian competitors scheduled for the final day of competition on October 24, the tally was confirmed as the country's best-ever showing at the continental para multi-sport event, surpassing the previous benchmark from Hangzhou 2023.
The fifth edition of the Asian Para Games, held from October 18 to October 24, brought together 45 National Paralympic Committees competing across 18 sports. India fielded a contingent of 168 athletes, significantly smaller than the 309-member squad that travelled to Hangzhou three years ago, yet the leaner team delivered the richest medal return in the nation's history at the Games.
The comparison with Hangzhou 2023 carries an important footnote. India originally won 111 medals at those Games — 29 gold, 31 silver and 51 bronze — finishing fifth in the standings. However, three of those medals were later stripped following doping charges against Neeraj Yadav and Parveen, revising the official record to 108 medals comprising 27 gold, 32 silver and 49 bronze.
Against either measure, the Aichi-Nagoya tally of 114 medals represents a new high, and the jump from fifth to fourth in the medal table underscores the progress made in just three years.
Para athletics was once again the engine room of the Indian campaign, contributing 65 medals — 22 gold, 19 silver and 24 bronze — more than half of the country's total. Para badminton added 16 medals, including three golds, five silvers and eight bronzes. India competed in 11 of the 18 sports on the programme.
The tone of the campaign was set on the very first day of competition. Mona Agarwal won gold in the women's 10m air rifle standing SH1 event, giving India its opening medal of the Games in emphatic fashion. The triumph was made sweeter by the fact that it was an Indian one-two: Avani Lekhara, one of the most recognisable faces of the country's para shooting programme, took the silver behind Agarwal.
The early podium sweep in the shooting range sent a clear signal of intent, and the medals kept flowing from there.
In para athletics, Nishad Kumar emerged as one of the standout performers of the entire Indian contingent. Competing in the men's long jump T47 and men's high jump T47, Kumar struck gold in both events, a rare double that highlighted his versatility across the jumping disciplines. His achievement places him among the most successful Indian athletes of these Games and adds to a growing list of honours in his career.
Sumit Antil, one of India's most celebrated para athletes, lived up to his billing in the men's javelin. He led a podium sweep in the event, guiding a dominant Indian performance in one of the country's strongest disciplines. The javelin throwers have long been a source of pride for Indian para athletics, and the sweep in Aichi-Nagoya reaffirmed that reputation on the continental stage.
Another milestone moment came from Sandeep Kumar, whose gold in the men's 400m T64 carried special significance: it was India's 100th medal of the Games. Reaching triple figures in the medal count was itself a historic first, and Kumar's sprint triumph gave the landmark a memorable face.
Simran delivered one of the most complete sprint performances of the Indian campaign, winning both the women's 100m T12 and the women's 200m T12. The double underlined her dominance in her classification and added two golds to the track-and-field haul.
The para badminton contingent produced its own golden moments. Nitesh Kumar won the men's singles SL3 title, while the women's doubles SL3-SU5 pairing of Thulasimathi Murugesan and Manasi Joshi struck gold together. The doubles triumph was emblematic of the depth in India's para badminton squad, which also includes some of the sport's most decorated athletes on the world circuit.
Archery contributed strongly to the medal tally as well. Sheetal Devi was at the heart of the action, winning gold in both the women's compound and the mixed compound events. She also took silver in the women's compound doubles alongside Payal Nag, narrowly missing out on a third gold. In the recurve division, Harvinder Singh and Vijay Sundi combined to win the men's recurve doubles gold, continuing India's strong tradition in para archery.
Among the many medallists, several names deserve recognition for their contributions to the record tally. Praveen Kumar, Sachin Sarjerao Khilari, Ayush Verma, Dilip Mahadu Gavit, Rinku, Soumya, Deepthi Jeevanji, Pranav Soorma and Devender Kumar all featured among the medal winners across the various disciplines, reflecting the breadth of talent in the contingent.
Kasthuri Rajamani earned a silver in para powerlifting, one of the most physically demanding events on the programme.
The scale of the achievement becomes clearer when set against the size of the squad. With 168 athletes — barely more than half the 309 who competed in Hangzhou — the contingent delivered more medals per athlete than ever before. The efficiency of the campaign suggests that the gains are not merely the result of greater participation but of improved preparation, coaching and athlete development across multiple sports.
The rise from fifth to fourth in the medal table is equally significant. The Asian Para Games feature some of the strongest para-sport programmes in the world, and climbing the standings required not just maintaining standards in India's traditional strongholds but also breaking new ground. The medals in shooting, archery, badminton and powerlifting, alongside the dominance in athletics, show a programme that is broadening its base.
Behind the medal count lies a wider story of the growth of para sport in India. The visibility of athletes like Avani Lekhara, Sumit Antil and Sheetal Devi has helped transform public perception, and the record haul in Aichi-Nagoya is likely to accelerate that process further. Each edition of the Asian Para Games has seen India raise the bar, and the 2026 campaign sets a new standard for the next generation to chase.
The success in Aichi-Nagoya also carries implications beyond the continent. With the Paralympic cycle continuing to build towards the next Games, the performances here serve as a crucial form guide. Athletes who medalled in Japan will now be looked upon as genuine contenders on the world stage, and the confidence gained from a record-breaking campaign cannot be underestimated.
As the Games concluded on October 24, the Indian contingent could reflect on a campaign that exceeded every reasonable expectation. From Mona Agarwal's opening gold to Sandeep Kumar's landmark 100th medal, from Nishad Kumar's golden double to the javelin podium sweep, the Aichi-Nagoya Games produced a stream of memorable moments.
The final tally of 114 medals — 30 gold, 35 silver and 49 bronze — will stand as the new benchmark for Indian para sport, a record that speaks to the talent, determination and professionalism of the athletes who earned it.
(Reporting based on Olympics.com and The Indian Express.)