Asian Para Games 2026: Indian Shooters, Shuttlers, and Archers Open Day 1 Campaign Strong
India opened its campaign at the fifth edition of the Asian Para Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, with strong performances across shooting, badminton, archery, and table tennis. The Indian contingent, comprising 166 athletes competing across 10 disciplines between October 18 and 24, secured multiple final qualifications and group-stage victories during early Day 1 action.
Indian Shooters Advance to Air Rifle Finals
Indian shooters delivered dominant qualification performances in the 10m air rifle events. In the women's 10m air rifle standing SH1 qualification round, Mona Agarwal topped the field with a score of 629.1 points, while Paralympic medallist Avani Lekhara qualified in second place with 626.4 points to reserve their spots in the final.
In the men's 10m air rifle standing SH1 qualification, Rakesh Nidagundi and Swaroop Unhalkar also secured berths in the final. Nidagundi finished seventh with a qualification score of 619.3, while Unhalkar placed eighth with 617.4 points. Anandha Krishnan was also featured in the men's qualification round.
Group Stage Victories in Badminton and Table Tennis
India's para-badminton stars registered convincing straight-games victories in early group-stage fixtures. In the mixed doubles SL3-SU5 group match, the Indian pair of Nitesh Kumar and Thulasimathi Murugesan defeated China's Chen Pengfei and Huang Zixuan 21-4, 21-18 in a 23-minute match.
In men's singles SH6 group action, Sivarajan Solaimalai needed only 19 minutes to defeat Brunei's Faiq Zali 21-8, 21-11. The badminton schedule also features prominent Indian players including Pramod Bhagat, Suhas Yathiraj, Krishna Nagar, Sukant Kadam, Manasi Joshi, and Manisha Ramdass across singles, doubles, and mixed doubles matches.
In table tennis, India's Baby Sahana Ravi secured a comfortable Group B win by beating Kazakhstan's Altynay Yerzhankyzy 3-0 (11-4, 11-6, 11-5) in a match lasting 16 minutes.
Solid Results in Archery and Upcoming Finals
In archery, Harvinder Singh and Vijay Sundi completed the men's recurve ranking round. Harvinder finished fifth with 631 points, while Vijay placed seventh with 630 points. South Korea's Kwak Geonhwi topped the standings with 661 points. In the women's compound ranking round, Sheetal Devi surged to the lead with 470 points, recording 22 X-ring hits and 17 tens, competing alongside Payal Nag.
Day 1 action extends across several disciplines, with medal events scheduled in powerlifting, athletics, and swimming. Jaspreet Kaur competes in the women's 45kg powerlifting final, while Manish Kumar and Paramjeet Kumar feature in the men's 59kg final. In athletics, Nishad Kumar takes part in the men's long jump T47 final, while Ajeet Singh Yadav and Rinku Hooda compete in the men's javelin throw F46 final. Indian swimmers are also scheduled for multiple finals, including Gopichand Lingutla and Niranjan Mukundan in the men's 400m freestyle S7 final.
