Asian Para Games 2026: Simran Sharma, Pranav Soorma strike gold as India adds to medal haul

India’s medal hunt at the 2026 Asian Para Games gathered momentum on Tuesday, October 20, with a series of strong performances on the track, in the field and in the pool. Sprinter Simran Sharma claimed gold in the women’s T12 200m, Tejalben Damor added bronze, and Pranav Soorma rewrote the Asian record books in discus throw. Para-swimmer Himanshu Nandal rounded off the day’s highlights with a bronze medal in the men’s 400m freestyle S11 event.

The results in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, underlined India’s growing presence across para-sports as athletes continued to convert medal opportunities into podium finishes.

Simran Sharma wins T12 gold as Tejalben Damor sets personal best

Simran topped the women’s T12 200m final in 24.80 seconds, finishing ahead of Iran’s Hajjar Safarzadeh, who clocked 25.02 seconds. The narrow 0.22-second margin made it a closely contested race.

India’s Tejalben Damor finished third in 25.23 seconds, recording a personal best to secure bronze. China’s Yaqin Shen came fourth in 26.49 seconds.

The double podium finish gave India a gold and bronze in the same event, with Simran taking the top spot and Damor producing one of her strongest performances.

Pranav Soorma breaks Asian record to win discus gold

India also celebrated a one-two finish in the men’s discus throw F51/F52/F53 event, where Pranav Soorma won gold and Ram Ratan Singh took silver.

Soorma produced a throw of 11.66 metres, breaking the Asian record to establish a new benchmark in the event. Ram Ratan finished second with an effort of 10.35 metres, adding another medal to India’s tally.

Soorma had previously won silver in the men’s club throw at the Paris Paralympics in 2024. His success in discus throw marks another major milestone in his career, while the Indian one-two finish strengthened the country’s performance in para-athletics.

Himanshu Nandal wins swimming bronze in 400m freestyle

The medal rush extended to the pool, where Himanshu Nandal finished third in the men’s 400m freestyle S11 event.

The 22-year-old reportedly clocked 5 minutes 10.91 seconds in the four-swimmer final. Japan’s Uchu Tomita won silver, while China’s Chuanzhen Sun claimed gold with an Asian-record performance.

Nandal’s bronze was India’s second medal in para-swimming at these Games. He had finished fourth in the men’s 100m backstroke S11 event on Monday, making Tuesday’s podium finish a notable turnaround.

India’s Asian Para Games campaign gathers pace

The performances by Simran, Damor, Soorma, Ram Ratan and Nandal added to India’s growing medal haul at the Games, which run from October 18 to 24. India has been collecting medals across athletics, shooting, swimming, judo and table tennis, with more events still to come.

The country entered Tuesday with 11 medals from the opening day. The medal count continued to change as more finals concluded, making time-specific tallies important when tracking India’s overall position.

With several competitions still underway, India’s athletes will be looking to build on the momentum in Aichi-Nagoya and turn individual breakthroughs into a strong overall campaign.

(With inputs from ANI)