Indian archery star Shital Devi once again demonstrated her mastery at the Asian Para Games. The 19-year-old athlete, who competes in hand-free archery, won two gold medals in less than two hours. Furthermore, Indian para-athletes continued an impressive run in athletics, bringing the country's total medal count to 88.
The reigning world champion and world number one, Shital Devi, primarily won gold in the mixed team discipline alongside Toman Kumar. The Indian para-team defeated the Indonesian team, consisting of Theodor Audi Audia Fereli and Ken Swagumilang, with a score of 151-148. Following this, Shital Devi defeated Singapore's Alim Nur Syahidah in the final of the women's individual compound competition with a score of 142-139. Shital Devi managed this victory after trailing by four points, replicating her performance result from the individual final in Hangzhou 2023.
Summary of India's Medals
On Thursday, India increased its medal tally to 88. These awards include 21 gold, 26 silver, and 41 bronze medals. Paralympic athletics remains the main source of awards for India. In this discipline, Indians secured a total of 52 medals: 18 gold, 16 silver, and 18 bronze. Medals were also won by Indian athletes in para-swimming, para-badminton, and para-tennis.
The day began with Suvarna Raj winning a gold medal. The 44-year-old athlete in a wheelchair won gold in the F54 women's discus throw, achieving a best result of 15.66 meters. She made four throws over 15 meters.
Indian Dominance in High Jump
In the men's T63 high jump discipline, India achieved a complete triumph, securing gold, silver, and bronze. Sheilesh Kumar set a games record by jumping 1.89 meters, winning gold. He had previously won a bronze medal in the long jump on Wednesday. Varun Bati, a Paralympic medalist in bronze, won silver by jumping 1.84 meters, while Rahul came in third with a result of 1.81 meters.
In the women's 400m race T47, Anjanaben Bumbadia won gold, finishing in 59.97 seconds. Jayanti Behra took second place, running 1 minute 0.65 seconds. In the men's 400m race T47, Dileep Mahadu Gawit won gold, completing the race in 48.27 seconds. He also took first place in the 100m race on Wednesday.
In the long jump, Dharmraj Solridge maintained his title, setting an Asian record by jumping 7.15 meters in the T44/T62/T64 combined event. Meanwhile, the visually impaired Tejalbhen Damor won silver in the women's 400m race T12, running in 57.60 seconds. Previously, he had already won bronze in the T12 200m race.
Historic Success in Archery
Indian archer Swati Choudhary made history by winning a silver medal in the women's individual W1 category. She became the first athlete to win a medal in this category at the Asian Para Games. In the final, she faced Sen Mengkan from China, losing with a score of 4-6.
Four Medals in Para-Swimming
India won four more medals in para-swimming on Thursday. Ravi Budhigina won bronze in the men's 50m sprint S13, finishing in 25.89 seconds. This is the third medal in these games for the 18-year-old blind swimmer from Andhra Pradesh. Earlier, he had won silver in the butterfly and freestyle events over 100 meters. Kapil Kumar won silver in the men's 400m freestyle S10, finishing the race in 4 minutes 38.44 seconds. Japan's Akito Minai won gold, setting a game record. Swatik Patil won bronze in the men's 100m breaststroke SB9, finishing in 1 minute 13.77 seconds. Tejas Nandkamar placed third in the men's 100m butterfly S7, posting a time of 1 minute 18.58 seconds. Thus, the total number of medals for Indian swimmers reached 10, although no gold medals have been won yet.
India's Success in Para-Badminton
India continues to demonstrate outstanding results in para-badminton. In the men's singles SL3 final, Pramod Bhagat and Nitesh Kumar will meet, guaranteeing India at least a silver medal. Six-time world champion and Tokyo Paralympics medalist Pramod Bhagat defeated Lee Seunggu from South Korea with a score of 16-21, 21-18, 21-17. This match lasted 2 hours and 9 minutes. Beijing Paralympics champion Nitesh Kumar advanced to the men's singles SL3 final, defeating Im Imran from Indonesia with a score of 21-19, 21-16. He also reached the mixed doubles SL3-SU5 final, where he defeated the pair of Li Mingpin and Xiao Zhuxiang from China with a score of 21-19, 14-21, 21-17 alongside Tulasmithi Murugesan. Navin Shivkumar advanced to the men's singles SL4 final. Indian para-skiers also won five bronze medals in various disciplines.
Bronze for Bhavina Patel in Tennis
In tennis, Bhavina Patel and Shubham Vadхва won a bronze medal in the mixed doubles XD7 competition. The Indian pair lost in the semi-finals to the South Korean team of Jang Youngjin and Lee Migyu with a score of 6-11, 11-8, 5-11, 8-11. Bhavina and Shubham reached the semi-finals after defeating the Japanese pair of Kimi Besso and Masanori Yuno with a score of 11-9, 11-3, 11-6 in the quarter-finals, which secured them a medal.
