India's para track and field stars lead golden surge at Asian Para Games

India’s para-athletes continued to swell the medal tally with a superb haul of gold medals on Thursday, as Shailesh Kumar spearheaded a podium sweep in the men’s high jump T63, Anjanaben Bumbadiya triumphed in the women’s 400m T47, and Dilip Mahadu Gavit secured his second gold of the Games in Nagoya.Defending champion Dharmaraj Solairaj smashed the Asian record in the men’s T44/T62/T64 long jump, while Suvarna Raj clinched gold in the women’s F54 discus throw, underlining the nation’s growing strength across para-athletics disciplines.Shailesh produced a Games-record leap of 1.89m to take the high jump gold. Former Paralympic bronze medallist Varun Bhati claimed silver with a season’s best of 1.84m, while Rahul completed the Indian clean sweep with 1.81m.Bumbadiya clocked 59.97s to win the women’s 400m T47 title, with compatriot Jayanti Behera taking silver in 1:00.65. Thailand’s Sasirawan Inthachot finished third in 1:02.58.Gavit, who had won the men’s 100m T47 gold on Wednesday, added another yellow metal by winning the 400m in 48.27s. Bhavikkumar Bharwad initially finished second in 49.31s but was disqualified for a second lane infringement. Japan’s Kakeru Ishida was consequently upgraded to silver, while Uzbekistan’s Marufjon Murodulloev took bronze. Solairaj, a 32-year-old Tamil Nadu jumper, registered 7.15m in his second attempt to break the Asian record. Malaysia’s Eddy Bernard won silver with 6.34m, while Japan’s Yuma Tamaki secured bronze with 6.89m.Suvarna, 44, delivered a winning discus throw of 15.66m. Iran’s Shahla Hadidi took silver with 15.45m and Vietnam’s Thi Ngoc Thuy Nguyen won bronze with 14.65m. India added further podium finishes through visually impaired Tejalben Damor, who won silver in the women’s 400m T12 in 57.60 seconds after her 200m bronze, and Ravanni Valasanaini, who claimed bronze in the women’s 400m T11 with a personal best of 1:03.64.India has so far won 52 medals from para-athletics, with 18 gold, 16 silver and 18 bronze after the end of Day 4 of the competitions.Stay updated with the latest Asian Games 2026 news, check the Asian Games medal tally and complete Asian Games schedule.Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.