India shine with historic medal haul at Asian Para Games in Hangzhou

Indian para-athletes made history on Thursday by achieving a record-breaking medal count at the Asian Para Games, elevating the nation's tally to a remarkable 80 medals, which includes an impressive collection of 18 gold medals. This accomplishment surpasses their previous best of 72 medals attained during the 2018 edition held in Indonesia.

The updated medal count stands at 18 gold, 23 silver, and 39 bronze medals, with the potential for further additions as the fourth day of competitions progresses. With two more days of the Games remaining, India is confidently on track to achieve its ambitious target of 100 medals during the Hangzhou edition of the Asian Para Games.

In the previous edition in Jakarta, India secured a total of 72 medals, comprising 15 gold, 24 silver, and 33 bronze medals, which was their best performance until the Hangzhou Games.

The day witnessed outstanding performances from Indian para athletes. Sachin Sarjerao Khilari secured the first gold of the day in the men's F46 shot put category, setting a Games record with a remarkable throw of 16.03 meters. Para shooter Sidhartha Babu added to India's gold collection by achieving a gold medal in the R6 mixed 50m rifle prone SH1 event with an impressive score of 247.7.

The compound mixed team of Sheetal Devi and Rakesh Kumar delivered another gold for India after defeating their Chinese counterparts in a thrilling final. In addition to the gold medals, Indian athletes also claimed silver and bronze medals in various events, further solidifying the nation's exceptional performance at the Asian Para Games.

India also won a bronze medal in archery men's doubles W1 event with the pair of Adil Mohamed Nazir Ansari and Naveen Dalal defeating the Kazakh pair of Nurshat Toleukassym and Sagdat Duisembayev 125-120.

Simran and Bhagyashri Madhavrao Jadhav won a silver each in women's T12 100m and women's F34 shot put respectively. Simran clocked 26.12 seconds while Jadhav cleared 7.54m. Narayan Thakur won a bronze in men's T35 100m with a time of 14.37 seconds. Shreyansh Trivedi also took a bronze in men's T37 100m with a time of 12.24 seconds.

In para badminton, Sukant Indukant Kadam (men's singles SL4), Sivan Nithya Sumathy (women's singles SH6), Manisha Ramadass (women's singles SU5), Mandeep Kaur/Manisha Ramadass (women's doubles SL3-SU5), Krishna Nagar/Sivarajan Solaimalai (men's doubles SH6) and Pramod Bhagat/Sukant Indukant Kadam (men's doubles SL3-SL4) won a bronze medal each after losing their respective semifinal matches.

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(With PTI inputs)