Indus Valley Times

NEW DELHI,OCT 19 : If the Indian contingent was looking to lay down an early marker, then they got that job done in Nagoya on Monday, October 19. Mona Agarwal and Nishad Kumar led the golden charge, while archer Sheetal Devi stole the spotlight by matching a world record before helping set another one.

ASIAN PARA GAMES, OCTOBER 19 HIGHLIGHTS

Sheetal first equalled the world record in the women’s compound qualification round before teaming up with Rakesh Kumar to establish a new world mark in the mixed team event. It was another emphatic reminder of India’s growing strength in para-archery.

India also achieved a couple of one-two finishes across multiple disciplines, raising the hopes of the fans expecting mulitple medals in the same events during the course of the games.

With the medal rush, India ended the day fourth on the standings. While China has taken an impressive lead early on, India does have a chance to catch up to Japan (8 gold) and Uzbekistan (6 gold) in the standings in the coming days.

MONA, AVANI DELIVER SHOOTING CLASSIC

Mona Agarwal delivered a stunning comeback in the women’s 10m air rifle SH1 final, climbing from sixth place to snatch gold from defending champion Avani Lekhara in a contest decided by the finest of margins.

Mona finished with an Asian Para Games record of 250.0 points, holding off Avani by just 0.4 points. The two-time Paralympic champion had to settle for silver with 249.6.

For Mona, the victory was another landmark in a career that continues to gather momentum. A bronze-medallist at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, she also helped India secure a second quota place for the 2028 Los Angeles Paralympics. She had already earned a quota at the WSPS World Championships in Changwon, South Korea, last month, where she claimed silver.

Mona had signalled her intent in qualification, topping the eight-shooter field with 629.1 points to set an Asian Para Games record. Avani followed in second place with 626.4, setting up an all-Indian showdown that went right down to the wire.

NISHAD MAKES FLYING DEBUT, SOUMYA, RINKU JOIN GOLD RUSH

The para-athletics arena became India’s gold mine, with Nishad Kumar, Soumya and Rinku striking gold in their respective events.

Nishad’s triumph in the men’s long jump carried special significance. The two-time Paralympic silver-medallist was competing in an international long jump event for the first time, but showed little sign of nerves as he soared to 7.11m to claim the top spot.

Soumya added another gold in the women’s 1500m T12/T13 event, clocking a personal best of 5:12.39 seconds. Her compatriot Venkatesh Radha ensured an Indian one-two finish, taking silver in 5:30.90.

India also picked up a bronze in the women’s T11 event through Ravanni Valasanaini. She moved into the medal positions after the original third-place finisher, Rakshitha Raju, was disqualified for a technical violation involving competition regulations on clothing, footwear and bibs.

The men’s F46 javelin event turned into an all-Indian show, with Rinku and Ajeet Singh claiming gold and silver respectively. Rinku’s 65.11m effort with his final attempt edged Ajeet’s 65.02m, with both athletes recording season-best throws.

JUDOKAS DELIVER DOUBLE PODIUM JOY

India’s visually impaired judokas added two more medals to the tally, with Kokila taking silver and Kapil Parmar securing bronze.

Kokila finished second in the women’s J2 -52kg category after losing the final to Kyrgyzstan’s Aibike Ulanbek Kyzy. The Hangzhou Asian Para Games bronze-medallist went one better this time, adding silver to her collection.

Kapil, a silver-medallist at the previous edition, had to settle for bronze in the men’s J1 -70kg division. After suffering a narrow 0-1 defeat to Indonesia’s Junaedi in the semifinal, he bounced back in the playoff, beating another Indonesian, Ahnaf Rafli Shidqi, by the same margin.

RAVI KARTHIK ADDS SWIMMING SILVER

India’s medal hunt continued in swimming, where Ravi Karthik Budigina secured silver in the men’s 100m freestyle S13 event.

Ravi clocked 56.68 seconds to finish on the podium in a category for swimmers with relatively minor visual impairments.

BHAVINA LEADS INDIA’S TABLE TENNIS CHARGE

India’s table tennis contingent ensured more medals were on the way, with Paralympic silver-medallist Bhavina Patel, Prachi Pandey and Sonalben all powering into the semifinals in their respective women’s singles classes.

Prachi broke new ground by securing India’s first-ever Para Asian Games medal in women’s Class 6. She defeated Thailand’s Kanokporn Phathumchai 11-5, 11-4, 11-13, 12-10 in her second group match to book her place in the last four.

Sonalben kept India’s charge going in Class 3, overcoming Thailand’s Dararat Asayut 3-1 in the quarterfinal. She won 11-7, 8-11, 11-5, 11-5 to seal her semifinal berth.

Bhavina, a former Commonwealth Games gold-medallist, also made the cut after producing a strong recovery against China’s Zhang Miao in the Class 4-5 quarterfinal. After dropping the opening game, she stormed back to win 8-11, 11-6, 11-1, 11-6.

NITESH, THULASIMATHI GUARANTEE BADMINTON MEDAL

India’s medal momentum carried into para-badminton, where Nitesh Kumar and Thulasimathi Murugesan secured a mixed doubles medal in the SL3-SU5 event by storming into the semifinals.

The Indian duo topped Group B unbeaten. After receiving a walkover against China’s Yang Jianyuan and Yang Qiuxia in their opening match, they swept past Chen Pengfei and Huang Zixuan of China 21-4, 21-18 in just 23 minutes at the Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium.

Their run into the semifinals guaranteed India at least a bronze medal in the event.

Paris Paralympics champion Nitesh also began his men’s singles SL3 campaign with a convincing 21-13, 21-15 win over South Korea’s Joo Dongjae in Group A.

Ruthick Ragupathi added to the winning streak, dispatching Thailand’s Somsiri Pricha 21-12, 21-12 in the men’s singles SU5 Group C contest.

-PTI