Aichi-Nagoya [Japan], October 20 (ANI): Indian para-powerlifter and Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Jhandu Kumar finished fifth in the men's up to 72 kg powerlifting final at the ongoing Para Asian Games on Tuesday.
Jhandu, who made headlines with a bronze medal win at CWG in Glasgow just three months before the Asian Para Games, failed to make a mark, securing a best lift of 190 kg and failing twice at his attempts to lift 195 kg.
The gold medal went to Malaysia's Bonnie Bunyau (225 kg), Zhang Pingkang of China (212 kg) got the silver, and Iran's Mohsen Bakhtiar (208 kg) took the bronze medal.
Earlier, para-swimmer Himanshu Nandal secured a bronze medal for India in the men's 400 m freestyle S11 category on Tuesday.
Himanshu secured India's second medal in para-swimming in this edition, finishing third in the four-man final with timings of 5:10.91, 32 seconds behind silver medallist Uchu Tomita (Japan), and 45 seconds behind gold medallist Chuanzhen Sun (China), who also set an Asian record, as per ESPN.
Ravi Karthik Budigina, who secured a silver medal in the men’s 100 m freestyle S13 event earlier, finished sixth in the men's 400 m freestyle S13 event with a time of 5:41.70.
This takes India's Asian Para Games medal tally to 24 medals, including five golds, eight silvers and 11 bronze medals.
Also, in the para compound archery doubles competition, the pairing of Sheetal Devi and Payal Nag confirmed another gold medal match for India, as they beat Thailand’s Phannibha Srathongmaew and Wasana Khuthawisap by 151–135 to face China in the final.
"INDIA’S ARCHERS AIM FOR GOLD! Para Compound Women Doubles - Semifinal India is assured of another medal at the #AsianParaGames2026! TOPS athlete Sheetal Devi and Payal Nag delivered a dominant performance, defeating Thailand’s Phannibha Srathongmaew and Wasana Khuthawisap by 151–135 to storm into the FINAL! The ultimate showdown awaits! The Indian duo will face China in the GOLD MEDAL MATCH on 21 October from 5:55 AM IST onwards, aiming to turn this assured medal into GOLD! #Cheer4Bharat #AsianParaGames2026 #ParaArchery #TeamIndia #MedalAssured," posted by SAI Media.
Earlier, Indian shooter Shristi Arora clinched a bronze medal in the women's 10 m air pistol SH1 category.
Shristi finished in third place with a score of 214.7, having managed 96.3 in her first two series. She climbed into the third spot soon after and maintained her spot there; she finished behind Iran's Sareh Javanmardi (237.0) and Faezeh Ahmadi (237.3), who secured the silver and gold medals, respectively, as per ESPN.
Earlier, former Paralympics para-shooter Manish Narwal secured a silver medal in the men's 10 m air pistol SH1 category at the ongoing continental showpiece.
Having won a bronze medal in the Asian Para Games 2023 in Hangzhou, Narwal (233.7) finished behind South Korea's Jo Jeongdu (241.3) and ahead of China's Yang Chao, as per ESPN.
Manish achieved a fifth-place finish in the qualification round, but the second series of 49.8 in the final lifted him into medal contention. The world record holder Jeongdu was excellent, way ahead of the chasing pack.
The other Indian in the final, Rudranksh Khandelwal, managed a seventh-place finish and was the second person to be eliminated after a poor start. His final was in contrast to his performance in the qualification, where he finished second.
He has also achieved a quota for Los Angeles Paralympics 2028 for India.
In para-table tennis, Jehan Madan secured a silver medal in men's singles class 1, finishing fourth in the group. In the five-man field, Jehan finished fourth, only beating compatriot Sandeep Dangi, but it was enough for him to take home a medal.
Also, Ashok secured a silver medal in the men's 65 kg para-powerlifting, with a best lift of 192 kg. He was behind the champion, China's Zou Yi, who took home the gold, with a best lift of 216 kg.
India ended the day one of the competition with 11 medals, including four gold medals, five silvers and two bronze medals.
Earlier, Indian para-table tennis players Baby Sahana Ravi and Prachi Pandey won bronze medals in the women's singles Class 9 and Class 6 events.
Baby Sahana lost 0-3 (8-11, 2-11, 4-11) to China's Mao Jingdian in the semi-finals of the women's singles Class 9 event and settled for a bronze medal. Notably, her medal marked India's first-ever medal in the standing category of para table tennis at the Asian Para Games.
On the other hand, Prachi Pandey also secured bronze in the women's singles Class 6 event after losing her semi-final match to Iraq's Najlah Al-Dayyeni in straight games, 9-11, 2-11, and 8-11.
With Baby Sahana Ravi and Prachi Pandey winning bronze medals, India secured four medals in para table tennis on the same day.
Earlier on the day, Bhavina Patel secured a bronze medal after facing a 3-0 defeat to China's Zhang Bian in the Women's Singles Class 4-5 semi-finals. Patel, a silver medallist at the 2020 Paralympics, bowed out of the singles competition after suffering a 7-11, 5-11, 7-11 defeat to China’s Zhang Bian in the semifinals.
Sonalben Patel also secured a bronze in the women's singles Class 3 event after losing her semi-final against South Korea's Yoon Jiyu in straight games, 7-11, 5-11, 6-11.
Besides four medals in para table tennis, Pradeep Kumar won silver, and Ayush Verma secured bronze in the men's javelin throw F53/F54 event, while Praveen Sharma added another bronze in the men's shot put F11 event.
The standout performance of the day came from Indian para-athlete Deepthi Jeevanji, who clinched gold in the women's 400m T20 event with a Games-record time of 56.36 seconds. (ANI)
Asian Para Games: CWG medalist para-powerlifter Jhandu Kumar finishes fifth in men's up to 72 kg final
