Asian Para Games 2026: Sheetal Devi-Toman Kumar Win Archery Gold as India’s Medal Tally Rises

India’s para-athletes continued their medal-winning run at the Asian Para Games 2026 on Thursday, with Sheetal Devi and Toman Kumar winning gold in the compound mixed team archery event and Suvarna Raj claiming the top spot in the women’s discus throw F54.

Indian athletes also added medals in para badminton and archery as the competition continued in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.

Sheetal and Toman defeated Indonesia’s Teodora Audi Ayudia Ferelly and Ken Swagumilang 151-148 in the compound mixed team final, securing India’s first archery gold medal of this edition.

The Indian pair built a 38-37 lead in the opening end and extended it to 77-73 in the second. Despite scoring 36 in the third end, they maintained their advantage before finishing strongly with 38 points in the final end.

Earlier, the duo edged past Chinese Taipei’s Yun-hsien Lee and Jyun-kai Yang 142-141 in the semifinal. Their victory marked India’s 16th gold medal at the Games and the second gold won by the country on Thursday.

SUVARNA RAJ WINS DISCUS GOLD

Suvarna Raj won gold in the women’s discus throw F54 event with a best effort of 15.66 metres. Competing in a six-athlete field, she recorded four throws beyond the 15-metre mark across her six attempts, with her winning effort coming on the fifth attempt.

Iran’s Shahla Hadidi won silver with 15.45 metres, while Vietnam’s Nguyen Thi Ngoc Thuy took bronze with 14.65 metres. Suvarna’s victory was India’s first gold medal of the day and its 15th of the Games at the time.

INDIA ADDS THREE BRONZES IN PARA BADMINTON

India secured three more bronze medals in para badminton after Krishna Nagar and Nithya Sre, Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj and Abhijeet Sakhuja lost their respective semifinals.

Krishna and Nithya went down 14-21, 18-21 to Indonesia’s Rina Marlina and Subhan in the mixed doubles SH6 semifinal. Suhas lost a closely fought men’s singles SL4 semifinal to Indonesia’s Fredy Setiawan, 23-21, 8-21, 21-15. Abhijeet Sakhuja was defeated 13-21, 15-21 by compatriot Naveen Sivakumar in an all-Indian semifinal in the same category.

Earlier, Manisha Ramadass and Pramod Bhagat also settled for bronze in the mixed doubles SL3-SU5 event after losing 21-16, 13-21, 17-21 to Indonesia’s Oktila Leani Ratri and Hikmat Ramdani. The Indonesian pair will face India’s Thulasimathi Murugesan and Nitesh Kumar in the final.

SWATI CHAUDHARY TAKES ARCHERY SILVER

Indian para-archer Swati Chaudhary won silver in the women’s W1 individual archery event after losing 4-6 to China’s Mengkan Cen in the final. Swati had taken a 4-2 lead after three ends but Cen fought back to claim the gold.

Earlier in the competition, Sheetal Devi and Payal Nag won silver in the women’s compound doubles event, losing 141-150 to China’s Xu Xueqing and Zhao Jing.

INDIANS ADVANCE IN TRACK EVENTS

India’s Dilip Gavit and Bhavik Bharwad qualified for the men’s 400m T47 final after 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.

India had already enjoyed a strong showing on Day 3, moving from sixth to fifth in the overall standings. The contingent won all three medals in the men’s shot put F46, with Sachin Khilari taking gold with a Games Record of 15.79 metres, Mohd Yasser winning silver with 15.06 metres and Praveen securing bronze with 13.83 metres.

Ayush Verma won gold in the men’s shot put F53, while Bhagyashri Jadhav took silver in the women’s shot put F34 and Ravi Rongali won bronze in the men’s shot put F40. Praveen Kumar claimed gold in the men’s high jump T44 with a Games Record of 2.05 metres, while Banti won silver. Shailesh Kumar secured bronze in the men’s long jump T42 with a Games Record of 5.57 metres.

On the track, Dilip Gavit Mahadu won gold in the men’s 100m T47, with Mohammed Basil taking silver. Anubhav Choudhary and Pranav Desai won bronze in the men’s 100m T35 and T64, respectively, while Sharath Makanahalli took bronze in the men’s 1500m T12.

India also collected medals in the javelin and discus events, with Manjeet winning silver in the men’s javelin throw F13, Sukhchian taking bronze in the men’s javelin throw F55, Karamjyoti winning bronze in the women’s discus throw F55 and Haney securing bronze in the men’s discus throw F37.

With medals across archery, athletics and badminton, India continued to build its tally at the Asian Para Games in Japan.

With inputs from ANI