
Aichi-Nagoya, October 23 (H.S.): India’s impressive campaign at the 2026 Asian Para Games continued as Naveen Shivkumar clinched gold in men’s singles SL4 para badminton, while Nithya Sree Sumathy Sivan secured silver in the women’s singles event. In athletics, Pramod won silver in the men’s 1,500-metre T46 race, and Nimisha Chakungalparambil claimed silver in the women’s long jump.
With these achievements, India’s medal tally at the Asian Para Games reached 100. At the time of writing, the country had secured 25 gold, 32 silver and 43 bronze medals, placing fourth in the overall standings.
Naveen Shivkumar defeated Indonesia’s Fredy Setiawan in straight games in the men’s singles SL4 final, winning 21-9, 21-17. In the 36-minute contest, Naveen dominated the opening game before overcoming a stronger challenge from his opponent in the second to seal the gold medal.
In the women’s singles badminton final, India’s Nithya Sree Sumathy Sivan went down to China’s Li Fengmei, losing 12-21, 13-21. The 26-minute match saw Li claim the gold medal, while Nithya Sree had to settle for silver.
India’s Pramod secured silver in the men’s 1,500-metre T46 event, clocking 4 minutes 9.65 seconds. Sri Lanka’s P. Wahumpurage won gold in 4 minutes 3.25 seconds, setting a new Games record. The Philippines’ King James Reyes took bronze with a time of 4 minutes 13.81 seconds, recording a personal best.
In the women’s long jump T46/T47 event, India’s Nimisha Chakungalparambil earned silver with a leap of 5.37 metres. Her best medal-winning effort came in her third attempt. Sri Lanka’s Dhananjana Wickramasinghe claimed gold with a jump of 5.52 metres, establishing a new Games record, while China’s Jin Chen secured bronze with a distance of 5.17 metres.
---------------
Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar