Aichi-Nagoya [Japan], October 20 : India’s Devender Kumar, Rakesh and Pradeep Kumar secured gold, silver and bronze medals respectively in the men’s discus throw F43/F44/F62/F64 event at the Asian Para Games in Nagoya, Japan.
Devender Kumar claimed the gold medal in the F44 category with a throw of 49.71 metres, earning 781 Raza points at the Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium. Rakesh, also competing in the F44 category, secured the silver medal with a throw of 49.45 metres and 771 Raza points.
Pradeep Kumar completed India’s medal sweep by winning bronze in the F64 category. He recorded a throw of 51.15 metres, earning 669 Raza points. The podium finish saw Indian athletes occupy all three medal positions in the event, adding to the country’s medal tally at the continental para-sport competition. Devender’s gold-winning performance, along with Rakesh’s silver and Pradeep’s bronze, marked a strong showing by the Indian contingent in para-athletics.
Meanwhile, India enjoyed a strong showing across multiple disciplines at the Asian Para Games, with athletes winning gold, silver and bronze medals in para-athletics, para-powerlifting, shooting para sport, para-table tennis and para-swimming.
In para-athletics, Deepthi Jeevanji won gold in the women’s 400m T20, while Pranav Soorma clinched gold and Ram Ratan Singh silver in the men’s discus throw F51/F52/F53. Simran secured gold in the women’s 200m T12, with Tejalben Damor taking bronze. Preeti Pal won silver in the women’s 200m T35, while Pradeep Kumar claimed silver and Ayush Verma bronze in the men’s javelin throw F53/F54. Praveen Sharma added a bronze in the men’s shot put F11.
In other events, Ashok won silver in men’s para-powerlifting up to 65kg. Manish Narwal secured silver in the men’s 10m air pistol SH1, while Shrishti Arora won bronze in the women’s 10m air pistol SH1.
India also secured several bronze medals in para-table tennis, with Sonalben Patel, Bhavina Patel, Prachi Pandey, Sahana Ravi and Jehan Madan reaching the podium. In para-swimming, Himanshu Nandal won bronze in the men’s 400m freestyle S11, while Niranjan Mukundan claimed bronze in the men’s 200m individual medley SM7.
Meanwhile, Indian para-badminton players advanced through their respective quarterfinals, with Nitesh Kumar, Pramod Bhagat and Sanjana Kumari winning their singles matches. Indian para-archers also delivered strong performances, with Sheetal Devi reaching the women’s individual compound final and several Indian teams advancing to finals or progressing through the knockout rounds.
The Indian contingent also recorded several other top-eight finishes across athletics, swimming and powerlifting, reflecting its broad participation across disciplines.