Representative image. Wikedit00, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Why it matters
A record medal count from a much smaller team suggests India's para sport programme is producing more winners per athlete, not just sending bigger squads. Strong results at the Asian level also shape funding, selection and training support in the run-up to the 2028 Paralympics.
India’s Asian Para Games 2026 campaign in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, ended on Friday, 23 October, with 114 medals: 30 gold, 35 silver and 49 bronze. It is the country’s best haul at the Games, and it came from a squad of 168 para-athletes, barely more than half the 309 sent to the last edition in Hangzhou, India TV reported. India was fourth in the medal table when its last event ended.
The last day alone brought 26 medals, Khel Now reported, lifting the India medal tally from 88 at the end of day four. Two of the golds came with a world record each.
Sandeep and Haney set a world record each
Sandeep won the men’s 400m T64 in 52.28 seconds, a world record, according to myKhel and Khel Now. T64 is the class for runners with a below-knee impairment on one leg who race on a prosthetic blade. Ajay Kumar took bronze in the same race in 53.61 seconds, an Asian Para Games record.
Haney saved his best for his last throw in the men’s javelin F37/38, reaching 60.49 metres for gold and a world record. F37 and F38 are field classes for athletes with coordination impairments such as cerebral palsy. Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Sandeep and Haney on their world records in separate messages released by the Press Information Bureau (PIB).
In the men’s javelin F42-F44/F61-F64, a combined event for throwers with leg impairments, Sumit Antil led an all-Indian podium. The Paralympic champion took gold, Mahendra Gurjar silver and Sandip Sargar bronze. Pranav Soorma won the club throw F51, an event for seated throwers with impairments in both arms and legs, for his second gold of the Games, with Dharambir Nain taking bronze.
Badminton, archery and shooting golds for India
The badminton finals added three golds. Nitesh Kumar beat fellow Indian Pramod Bhagat in the men’s singles SL3, a class for players with a significant leg impairment who play standing. Naveen Sivakumar won the SL4 title, for players with a milder leg impairment, against Indonesia’s Fredy Setiawan. Thulasimathi Murugesan and Manasi Joshi beat a Chinese pair to win the women’s doubles SL3-SU5, a class that pairs a leg-impaired player with one who has an arm impairment, and Thulasimathi also won two silvers on the day.
In para archery, Harvinder Singh and Vijay Sundi won the recurve men’s doubles, while Pooja Jatyan and Bhawna Choudhary took silver in the women’s doubles. Shooter Mona Agarwal won her second gold of the Games in the women’s 50m rifle three positions SH1, the class for shooters who can hold a rifle without a support stand. Jehan Madan and Shubham Wadhwa (table tennis) and swimmer Himanshu Nandal added bronzes.
How the India medal tally beats Hangzhou
India’s earlier best came at Hangzhou, where the Games were held in 2023. That campaign first counted 111 medals (27 gold, 32 silver, 49 bronze), but three were later taken away after doping cases, leaving 108, India TV reported. Some outlets still compare with the original 111. On either count, 114 is higher, and the 30 golds beat Hangzhou’s 27.
The smaller squad makes the jump sharper. With 168 athletes, India won about two medals for every three athletes sent. In Hangzhou the rate was close to one medal for every three.
Para athletics, the track and field events, again carried the load with 65 medals (22 gold, 19 silver, 24 bronze), 12 more than at Hangzhou. Para badminton was next with 16 medals, though that was down from 21. Swimming grew the most, from one medal to 11, and table tennis rose from two bronzes to seven. Para archery (six medals) and para shooting (five) finished one short of their Hangzhou totals.
Where India stands in the Asian Para Games 2026 table
China topped the table by a wide margin with 427 medals, 204 of them gold, with one day of competition still left, according to Khel Now. Japan, the host, was second with 185 medals and Uzbekistan third with 145. India held fourth ahead of South Korea, with 28 golds, and Iran, with 26.
India’s earlier progress at these Games is in our report from 21 October, when the tally stood at 45 medals and 12 golds. The India medal tally more than doubled in the last three days, mostly in para athletics.
The fifth Asian Para Games still had one day of events left after India’s campaign ended, Khel Now reported. Because the table is ranked by gold medals, South Korea, two golds behind, could still move past India if it wins enough on the final day.
Frequently asked questions
How many medals did India win at the Asian Para Games 2026?
114 medals: 30 gold, 35 silver and 49 bronze, India's best ever tally at the Games.
What was India's rank in the Asian Para Games 2026 medal table?
India was fourth, behind China, Japan and Uzbekistan, when its campaign ended on 23 October. One day of events remained for other teams.
Which Indians set world records at the Asian Para Games 2026?
Sandeep in the men's 400m T64 (52.28 seconds) and Haney in the men's javelin F37/38 (60.49 metres), both on 23 October.