Asian Para Games: India's Kasthuri, Manjeet clinch silver medals

Kasthuri Rajamani clinched silver in para-powerlifting, while Manjeet won silver in men's javelin throw. India also secured podium sweeps in men's shot put F46 and men's discus throw, taking the total medal tally to 47 at the Asian Para Games.

Kasthuri Rajamani continued to make medals rain for India at the Asian Para Games, clinching a silver in the women's up to 67 kg event in para-powerlifting on Wednesday. Kasthuri managed two successful lifts out of three: a successful 103 kg lift, then a failed attempt at lifting 106 kg, and then success at lifting 108 kg. Her closest competitor, South Korea's Kim Hyeonghui, managed a successful lift of 107 kg. The gold medal was won by Uzbekistan's Rukhshona Uktamova, who had the best attempt of 127 kg, as per ESPN. With this, India has reached 47 medals, with 12 gold medals, 17 silver medals and 18 bronze medals.

Medal Rush in Para-Athletics

Javelin Silver for Manjeet

Indian para-athlete Manjeet clinched the silver medal in the men's javelin throw F13 at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Para Games with a personal-best effort of 61.03 metres on Wednesday. Earlier, Manjeet produced his career-best throw in his second attempt in the men's javelin throw F12/13 competition, securing the podium finish in the F13 category. The Indian para-athlete has enjoyed a strong season, having won gold in the men's F13 javelin throw at the World Para Athletics Grand Prix 2026 in Delhi and the Indian Open Para Athletics Championships in Bengaluru. He also claimed gold at the Asian Para Games qualifiers with a throw of 59.08m.

Podium Sweep in Men's Shot Put F46

Earlier in the day, India completed their second podium sweep of the Games as Sachin Khilari, Mohd Yasser and Praveen claimed gold, silver and bronze, respectively, in the men's shot put F46. Khilari, a Paralympic medallist, won gold with a Games-record throw of 15.87m on his final attempt. Yasser secured silver with a season-best effort of 15.06m, while Praveen completed the clean sweep with a throw of 14.94m.

Dominance in Men's Discus Throw

The sweep followed India's dominant performance in the men's discus throw F43/F44/F62/F64 final on Day 2, when Devender Kumar, Rakesh and Pardeep Kumar secured all three podium places. Devender won gold with 781 Raza points, while Rakesh claimed silver with 771 points and Pardeep took bronze with 669 points. Despite recording the longest throw of the competition at 51.15m, Pardeep finished third under the Raza points system, which accounts for differences across disability classifications.

Silver for Bhagyashri in Women's Shot Put

Bhagyashri Jadhav also added a silver medal to India's tally in the women's shot put F34. She registered a personal-best throw of 8.19m on her third attempt to finish behind China's Lijuan Zou, who won gold with a Games-record effort of 9.07m. The silver marked Jadhav's second consecutive Asian Para Games medal of the same colour in the event.

One-Two Finish in Men's High Jump

Praveen Kumar and Banti secured a one-two finish in the men's high jump T64 event, while Rakeshbhai Bhatt claimed bronze in the men's 100m T37 final at the Asian Para Games 2026 on Wednesday. Praveen, a two-time Paralympic medallist, won gold with an Asian Para Games record jump of 2.05 metres, while Banti took silver with a personal best of 1.92 metres to complete a memorable double podium finish for India.

Praveen initially secured the gold medal by clearing 1.95 metres, equalling the Games record. He subsequently cleared 2.00 metres on his first attempt before scaling 2.05 metres on his third attempt to establish a new Games record. Banti also delivered an impressive performance, clearing 1.92 metres to secure the silver medal and ensure India's dominance in the event.

Bronze on the Track for Rakeshbhai Bhatt

India added another medal on the track through Rakeshbhai Bhatt, who clocked a personal best of 11.50 seconds to finish third in the men's 100m T37 final. Saudi Arabia's Ali Alnakhli won the gold medal in 11.31 seconds, while Indonesia's Saptoyogo Purnomo claimed silver in 11.35 seconds. (ANI)

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