NEW DELHI, October 22 (Aalimi Nation) – India added a fresh haul of medals on the fourth day of the Asian Para Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, taking its overall tally to 88, including 21 gold, 26 silver and 41 bronze. The country remains fourth in the medal table.
Thursday's returns came to 26 medals by official count, seven of them gold. The Games run from October 18 to October 24.
Archery and athletics lead the charge
Sheetal Devi was again the face of the day. The compound archer won the women's individual gold, beating Singapore's Alim Nur Syahidah 142-139 after trailing by four points at one stage. She then teamed up with Toman Kumar to take the compound mixed team gold, defeating Indonesia 151-148. The two golds took her to three medals at the Games so far.
In athletics, India swept the men's high jump T63 final. Shailesh Kumar took gold, Varun Bhati silver and Rahul bronze. Dharmaraj Solairaj defended his title in the men's long jump T44/T62/T64, and his leap of 7.15 metres was recorded as an Asian record.
On the track, Anjanaben Bumbadiya won the women's 400 metres T47 in 59.97 seconds, with Jayanti Behera taking the silver. Dilip Mahadu Gavit clocked 48.27 seconds to win the men's 400 metres T47. Suvarna Raj won the women's F54 discus with a best throw of 15.66 metres, while Tejalben Damor took silver in the women's 400 metres T12 in 57.60 seconds, her second medal of the Games.
Firsts and podium finishes elsewhere
Swati Chaudhary won silver in the women's individual W-1 archery event, which officials described as India's first medal in that category. She led 4-2 early before going down 6-4 to China's Cen Mengkan in the final.
In table tennis, Bhavina Patel and Subham Wadhwa won bronze in the XD7 mixed doubles. Para-badminton added several bronze medals, including Manisha Ramadass and Pramod Bhagat in the mixed doubles, Sanjana Kumari in the women's singles SL3, and Krishna Nagar and Nithya Sre in the SH6 mixed doubles. In swimming, Kapil Kumar won silver and Swatik Patil bronze.
Recognition at home
Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the Indian para-athletes for what he described as record-breaking performances at the Games. President Droupadi Murmu congratulated Sheetal Devi and Toman Kumar on their archery gold.
Context and what comes next
The Indian contingent opened the Games with 11 medals on day one, including four gold, and has stayed in the top four since. The Paralympic Committee of India's chief executive had reportedly said before the Games that a haul of 90 to 100 medals was realistic, as the athletics squad was smaller this time because of entry quotas. India's record is 111 medals, set at the previous continental edition in Hangzhou.
With two days of competition remaining, the Indian team is within reach of the 90-medal mark. Some tallies differ by a medal or so as results are finalised, and the official table will be settled once the Games close on Saturday.
