‘Immense Pride and Joy’: PM Modi Hails India’s Record 114 Medals at Asian Para Games

India’s para-athletes finished the Asian Para Games 2026 with a record 114 medals, prompting Prime Minister Narendra Modi to hail an achievement he described as an occasion of “immense pride and joy” for the country.

The contingent collected 30 gold, 35 silver and 49 bronze medals at Aichi-Nagoya, surpassing India’s revised tally of 108 from the previous edition.

“What an extraordinary achievement by our para-athletes at the just concluded Asian Para Games 2026! With a record 114 medals, this marks India’s best-ever performance at the Games,” Modi wrote on X.

“I congratulate every member of our contingent for their exceptional determination. Each athlete has contributed to this historic achievement and inspired countless Indians with their accomplishments.”

SMALLER CONTINGENT, BIGGER HAUL

India achieved the milestone with 168 para-athletes, compared with 309 at the previous edition in Hangzhou.

The earlier Games had yielded 27 gold, 32 silver and 49 bronze medals after the tally was revised following doping-related disqualifications.

This time, India increased both its gold and silver counts, with landmark results across athletics, badminton, archery, shooting, swimming and table tennis.

WORLD RECORDS AND A JAVELIN SWEEP

Haney won the men’s javelin F37/38 title with a throw of 60.49 metres, producing a world-record performance in his classification.

Debutant Sandeep won the men’s 400m T64 event in 52.28 seconds, setting a T44 world record. Ajay Kumar took bronze in the same race in 53.61 seconds. Sandeep also secured bronze in the men’s 100m T44, clocking 11.67 seconds.

India swept the podium in the men’s javelin F42-F44/F61-F64 final. Sumit won gold with 72.46 metres and 1,112 points, followed by Mahendra Gurjar and Sandip Sanjay Sargar, whose throws of 59.03 metres and 64.48 metres respectively were Games records in their classifications.

Pranav Soorma added gold in the men’s club throw F51 with a Games-record 32.87 metres, while Dharambir took bronze with 27.71 metres.

Navdeep Singh won bronze in the men’s javelin F40/41, and Rakeshbhai Bhatt finished third in the men’s 200m T37.

ALL-INDIAN BADMINTON FINAL

Reigning Paralympic champion Nitesh Kumar defeated compatriot and reigning world champion Pramod Bhagat 21-18, 21-16 in the men’s singles SL3 final, ensuring India took both gold and silver.

Thulasimathi Murugesan and Manasi Girishchandra Joshi won the women’s doubles SL3-SU5 title, beating China’s Qiuxia Yang and Zuxian Xiao 21-16, 21-13.

Thulasimathi also claimed silver in women’s singles SU5. Nithya Sre Sumathy Sivan added silver in women’s singles SH6, finishing runner-up to China’s Fengmei Li.

BREAKTHROUGHS ACROSS DISCIPLINES

In archery, Harvinder Singh and debutant Vijay Sundi won men’s recurve doubles gold. Pooja Jatyan and Bhawna Choudhary secured women’s recurve doubles silver, India’s first medal in the event at the Asian Para Games.

Mona Agarwal delivered another milestone in shooting, winning women’s 50m rifle 3 positions SH1 gold with 357.5 points. Her performance set world and Games records and made her the first Indian para-shooter to medal in the event at the Games.

Jehan Dorab Madan and Shubham Wadhwa won bronze in men’s doubles Class MD4 table tennis. At 50, Madan became the oldest Indian medallist at this edition.

In the pool, Himanshu Nandal took bronze in the men’s 100m freestyle S11 in 1:05.90, completing his campaign with three bronze medals.

With inputs from ANI