India heads into the October 23 programme at the Asian Para Games with a chance to challenge its best-ever medal tally. With 88 medals already secured, the contingent needs another 19 to match its previous record of 107 and 20 to surpass it. Sumit Antil, Navdeep Singh and Dharambir Nain headline a busy athletics schedule, while badminton, shooting and archery offer further opportunities to strengthen India’s position. Several finals are spread across the day, giving fans plenty of action to follow.
India Medal Chase Across Multiple Sports
India’s prospects extend beyond its leading track-and-field athletes. Recurve archers Pooja Jatyan, Bhawna Choudhary, Harvinder Singh and Vijay Sundi feature in gold medal matches, while swimmers and powerlifters also have opportunities to reach the podium.
Pooja and Bhawna are scheduled to contest the women’s doubles recurve final against China at 5:55 AM IST. Harvinder and Vijay follow in the men’s doubles final at 6:45 AM IST. Harvinder and Bhawna also have a mixed-team semifinal at 9:20 AM IST, with medal matches later in the morning depending on the result.
Badminton Finals Promise Early Medal Action
The badminton programme begins with Thulasimathi Murugesan facing China’s Yang Quixia in the women’s singles SU5 final at 5:30 AM IST. An all-Indian men’s singles SL3 final between Pramod Bhagat and Nitesh Kumar follows at 6:20 AM IST, guaranteeing India both gold and silver in that event.
Naveen Sivakumar takes on Indonesia’s Fredy Setiawan in the men’s singles SL4 final at 7:00 AM IST. Nithya Sre Sumathy Sivan faces China’s Li Fengmei in the women’s singles SH6 final at 7:05 AM IST.
Thulasimathi and Nitesh return for the mixed doubles SL3-SU5 final against Indonesia’s Leani Oktila and Hikmat Ramdani at 3:00 PM IST. Thulasimathi also partners Manasi Joshi in the women’s doubles final, whose start time remains unconfirmed.
Shooting Events Feature Avani Lekhara and Mona Agarwal
Avani Lekhara and Mona Agarwal begin their women’s 50m rifle three positions SH1 qualification at 6:30 AM IST. The final is scheduled for 9:15 AM IST, with participation dependent on qualification.
Nihal Singh and Amir Ahmad Bhat compete in the open 25m pistol SH1 event. Precision qualification starts at 6:15 AM IST, followed by the rapid stage at 1:00 PM IST. The final takes place at 2:30 PM IST, subject to qualification.
Swimming finals throughout the afternoon could provide additional medals, with Ravi Karthik Budigina, Himanshu Nandal, Tejas Nandakumar and Suyash Jadhav among the scheduled Indian competitors.
Athletics Schedule: Sumit Antil Leads Major Medal Hopes
Athletics remains central to India’s ambitions. Early medal events include Parmod Bijarnia’s men’s 1500m T46 final at 6:17 AM IST, Nimisha Suresh’s women’s long jump T47 final at 6:30 AM IST and Praveen Sharma’s men’s discus F11 final at 6:35 AM IST.
Amisha Rawat competes in the women’s shot put F46 final at 7:25 AM IST. Haney’s javelin F37/38 final begins at 8:00 AM IST, followed by Ajay Kumar and Sandeep in the men’s 400m T64 final at 8:05 AM IST.
The afternoon brings Navdeep Singh and Ravi Rongali into the men’s javelin F40/41 final at 3:10 PM IST. Dharambir Nain, Pranav Soorma and Amit Kumar Saroha contest the men’s club throw F51 final at 3:30 PM IST.
Sumit Antil joins Sandip Sargar and Mahendra Gurjar in the men’s javelin F42-F44/F61-F64 final at 4:46 PM IST. Their performances could prove decisive as India pursues a new medal milestone.
