Aichi-Nagoya [Japan], October 22 (ANI): India added three more bronze medals to its para badminton tally at the Asian Para Games 2026 on Thursday, with Krishna Nagar-Nithya Sre, Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj and Abhijeet Sakhuja finishing third in their respective events after semifinal defeats.
Krishna Nagar and Nithya Sre lost 0-2 to Indonesia’s Rina Marlina and Subhan in the mixed doubles SH6 semifinal. Suhas Yathiraj also went down 1-2 to Indonesia’s Fredy Setiawan in the men’s singles SL4 semifinal, while Abhijeet Sakhuja suffered a 0-2 defeat against compatriot Naveen Sivakumar in an all-Indian semifinal clash in the same event.
The Indian pair of Krishna and Nithya went down 14-21, 18-21 in straight games, with the Indonesian duo winning both games to book their place in the final.
On the other hand, Suhas narrowly lost the opening game 21-23 but bounced back strongly in the second, winning 21-8 to force a decider. The third game remained closely contested until the 11-point mark, after which Setiawan pulled ahead to secure a 23-21, 8-21, 21-15 victory in the singles semifinal event.
Meanwhile, Sakhuja went down to compatriot Sivakumar 13-21, 15-21.
The bronze medals took India’s tally at the ongoing Asian Para Games to 68, comprising 15 gold, 22 silver and 31 bronze medals.
Earlier in the day, Indian para-shuttlers Manisha Ramadass and Pramod Bhagat also settled for the bronze medal in the mixed doubles SL3-SU5 event after losing their semifinal against Indonesia’s Oktila Leani Ratri and Hikmat Ramdani.
The Indian pair went down 21-16, 13-21, 17-21 in a three-game contest, conceding the match after winning the opening game.
Meanwhile, India’s Dilip Gavit and Bhavik Bharwad qualified for the men’s 400m T47 final, clocking 50.21 seconds and 49.05 seconds, respectively. Ravanni Valasanaini also advanced to the women’s 400m T11 final with a personal-best time of 1:03.80.
Earlier in the day, Suvarna Raj won the gold medal in the women’s discus throw F54 event with a best effort of 15.66 metres, securing the country’s first gold medal of the day on Thursday.
Competing in a six-athlete field, Suvarna delivered a consistent performance, recording four throws beyond the 15-metre mark across her six attempts. Her gold-medal-winning effort came in her fifth attempt, helping her finish at the top of the podium and add another gold to India’s medal tally at the continental para-sporting event.
Para-archer Swati Chaudhary won the silver medal in the women’s W1 individual archery event after losing to China’s Mengkan Cen 4-6. (ANI)
Asian Para Games: Krishna-Nithya pair, Suhas Yathiraj, Abhijeet Sakhuja win bronze in badminton
