India made a strong start at the 5th Para Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, collecting 11 medals on the opening day—four gold, five silver and two bronze. The event features around 3,000 athletes from 45 countries, with India fielding a 168-member contingent.
In women’s 10m air rifle standing SH1, Mona Agarwal topped qualification with 629.1 points, setting a Games record for the highest qualification score. In the final, she clinched gold with 250.0 points and a new Asian record, while fellow Indian Avani Lekhara took silver with 249.6. South Korea’s Yunri Lee won bronze.
On the track, India added major medals in visually impaired events. In the women’s 1500m T12/13 final, Sowmya won gold in 5:12.39 (621 points), with Radha Venkatesh taking silver in 5:30.90 (421 points). In the women’s 1500m T11, Ravanni finished third in 5:41.85 to secure bronze.
India’s athletics gold tally also grew through field events, as Nishad Kumar won the men’s long jump T47 with a best of 7.11m. In the men’s javelin throw F46, Rinku struck gold with 65.11m, while Ajit Singh earned silver with 65.02m.
In other podium finishes, swimmer Ravi Karthik Budikina won silver in the men’s 100m S13 final with 56.68 seconds. In judo, Kokila claimed silver in the women’s 52kg J2 category, and Kapil Parmar secured bronze in the men’s 70kg J1 event.
