Aichi-Nagoya [Japan], October 21 (ANI): India continued to add to its medal tally at the Asian Para Games 2026, with Rohit Kumar, Sharath Makanahalli, Shailesh Kumar and Haney clinching bronze medals across swimming and para athletics events.
Debutant Rohit Kumar clinched bronze in the men's 100m Breaststroke SB4 final with a timing of 1:57.25, improving India's performance in the event compared to the previous edition in 2022.
At APG 2022, Shaikh and Herojit Singh finished fourth and fifth, respectively, with timings of 2:24.05 and 2:24.49. Rohit's timing in 2026 was 26.80 seconds faster than Shaikh's and 27.24 seconds faster than Herojit Singh's.
Malaysia's Muhammad Bin Zulkafli won gold in the event with a Games record time of 1:41.44. In para athletics, Sharath Makanahalli secured bronze in the men's 1500m T12/T13 final with a timing of 4:11.01, earning 629 points.
Makanahalli led the field by a sizeable margin going into the final lap but faded towards the finish and was overtaken at the final bend before securing the bronze medal. Uzbekistan's Fakhriddin Khamraev won gold with a Games record time of 4:07.48, earning 688 points, while Jordan's Nabeel Maqableh claimed silver.
Shailesh Kumar, who won gold in the Hangzhou Asiad in the Men's High Jump T42/T63 event, won bronze medal in the Men's Long Jump T42/T61/T63 Final. The switch looked to have worked wonders when both Shailesh and compatriot Mahendra Gurjar briefly led the field as T42 categories, but were pipped to the victory by Hajime Kondo of Japan (gold, 6.51m, 734pts) and Phalathip Khamtaa (silver, 6.41m, 699 pts) - both T63 athletes. Shailesh won bronze with an Games record (T42) effort of 5.57m, narrowly beating out Gurjar who jumped 5.56m to finish fourth.
Twenty-year-old Haney won bronze in the men's discus throw F37 final with a personal best throw of 57.04 metres on his sixth and final attempt.
Haney, who holds the world record in the men's javelin throw F37 category, was in fourth place for much of the event before securing the bronze with his final throw.
Pakistan's Haider Ali won silver with a throw of 57.20 metres, while Uzbekistan's Kudratillokhon Marufkhujaev clinched gold with a Games record effort of 57.39 metres.
India enjoyed a strong medal haul at the Asian Para Games 2026, with athletes winning gold, silver and bronze medals across para athletics, swimming, powerlifting, archery and badminton.
In para athletics, Sachin Khilari, Simran Sharma, Dilip Gavit, Praveen Kumar and Ayush Verma won gold medals. Mohammed Yasser, Parveen, Preeti Pal, Manjeet, Bhagyashri Jadhav and Akira Banothu were among the athletes who secured silver medals, while Sukhchain, Pranav Desai, Anubhav Choudhary, Rakesh Bhatt, Ravi Rongali, Sharath Makanahalli and Karamjyoti won bronze medals.
In para swimming, Ravi Budigina won silver in the men's 100m backstroke S13 final, while Himanshu Nandal and Rohit Kumar claimed bronze medals in their respective events. Kasthuri Rajamani won silver in women's para powerlifting.
In para archery, Sheetal Devi and Payal Nag secured silver in the women's compound doubles event after losing to China's Zhao Jing and Xu Xueqing in the gold medal match. Alphia James and Pallavi K won bronze in women's doubles WH1-WH2 para badminton.
India also had several athletes finish outside the medal positions. Sujith Mandalamkunnath finished sixth in men's long jump T13, while swimmers Vaishnavi Jagtap and Devanshi Satija placed sixth in their respective events. Niranjan Mukundan and Suyash Jadhav finished fifth and sixth in the men's 50m butterfly S7 final, respectively.
Indian athletes also missed out on medals in para archery, boccia and para cycling, while Chaitanya Kulkarni finished sixth in men's 100m breaststroke SB5 and Himanshu Nandal placed fourth in men's 200m individual medley SM11. (ANI)
Asian Para Games 2026: Rohit, Sharath, Shailesh and Haney clinch bronze medals
