Thulasimathi Murugesan showcased an exceptional performance at the Asian Para Games 2026, securing a total of three medals on Friday. The 24-year-old athlete, who previously won silver at the Paris Paralympics, concluded her campaign with a gold medal in the women’s doubles SL3-SU5 event. Partnering with Manasi Joshi, the duo triumphed over China’s Yang Qiuxia and Xiao Zuxian with a score of 21-16, 21-13 in the final match, which lasted only 28 minutes.

Earlier in the day, Thulasimathi competed in the women’s singles SU5 final, where she faced a challenging match against Yang Qiuxia. Despite her efforts, she was unable to secure the victory, ultimately finishing with a silver medal after losing 18-21, 11-21. Following this, she participated in the mixed doubles SL3-SU5 final alongside Nitesh Kumar, but the Indian pair fell short against Indonesia’s Leani Ratri Oktila and Hikmat Ramdani, ending the match with scores of 21-11, 19-21, 14-21.

Nitesh Kumar and Naveen Sivakumar Shine

Nitesh Kumar, the reigning champion from the Paris Paralympics, also had a remarkable day, clinching gold in the men’s singles SL3 event. He faced fellow Indian and Tokyo Paralympic gold medallist Pramod Bhagat in the final, winning decisively with scores of 21-18, 21-16. After his victory, Nitesh reflected on his previous near-win, expressing that this triumph was particularly meaningful as he had previously lost to Pramod in a closely contested match.

In addition to Nitesh’s success, Naveen Sivakumar contributed to India’s gold tally by winning the men’s singles SL4 final. In his first Asian Para Games appearance, Naveen defeated Indonesia’s Fredy Setiawan with scores of 21-9, 21-17, completing the match in 36 minutes. Pramod Bhagat, despite his silver finish this time, had previously won gold in the 2018 and 2022 editions of the Games.

Furthermore, India’s Nithya Sre Sumathy Sivan secured a silver medal in the women’s singles SH6 final, facing a tough opponent in China’s Li Fengmei. This added to the growing list of achievements for the Indian contingent on this day.

India’s Medal Tally and Achievements

On Friday, India’s para athletes continued to excel across various disciplines, significantly contributing to the nation’s overall medal count. Para shooter Mona Agarwal achieved her second gold of the Games in the women’s 50m rifle 3 Positions SH1 final, setting a new world record with a score of 357.5 points, surpassing China’s Cuiping Zhang by 3.8 points.

In para archery, Harvinder Singh and Vijay Sundi won gold in the men’s recurve doubles event, while Sandeep claimed victory in the men’s 400m T64 category. Additionally, Haney secured gold in the men’s javelin throw F37/38 event, showcasing the diverse talents of the Indian athletes.

India also earned silver medals through Nithya Sre Sumathy Sivan, Pooja Jatyan, and Bhawna Choudhary in the women’s recurve doubles, as well as Parmod Bijarnia in the men’s 1500m T46 and Nimisha Suresh in the women’s long jump T47. Jehan Madan and Shubham Wadhwa added to the medal tally with bronze in men’s doubles para table tennis MD4.

As of now, India’s overall medal count stands at 106, comprising 28 gold, 34 silver, and 44 bronze medals, placing the country fourth in the standings. The contingent is on track to surpass its previous best of 108 medals, achieved at the Hangzhou Games in 2023.

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