A smaller Indian contingent has delivered a bigger return, rewriting the nation’s Asian Para Games record with 114 medals in Nagoya. India’s haul of 30 gold, 35 silver and 49 bronze is its best-ever at the continental event, with para-athletics the engine of a campaign that exceeded expectations.Only 168 Indian athletes — 112 men, 56 women — competed across 11 sports, little more than half the 303 sent to Hangzhou in 2023. Yet India has surpassed its previous best of 111 medals there, when it finished fifth and bettered the 72-medal return from Jakarta in 2018, where 190 athletes represented the country.Track and field athletes were the standout, collecting 65 medals, including 22 gold. Para-badminton was next biggest contributor with 16, meaning the two events combined for 81 medals — more than 70 percent of India’s tally. The numbers underline how effectively a squad converted opportunity into podium finishes.Friday brought a flourish, with India winning nine gold medals — its best singleday gold haul of these Games. Sandeep stormed to the men’s 400m T64 title in a world-record 52.28s, while Haney won the men’s javelin F37/38 gold with a worldrecord throw of 60.49m.Sumit Antil, the Paralympic champion, defended his javelin crown in the men’s F42-44/61-64 combined event with a throw of 72.46m. It was not a record, but enough to lead an Indian sweep: Mahendra Gurjar took silver with 59.03m and Sandip Sanjay Sargar bronze with 64.48m.Pranav Soorma defended his men’s club throw F51 title with a Games-record 32.87m. Sandeep’s compatriot Ajay Kumar claimed bronze in 400m T64 in a Games-record 53.61s. Nimisha C won silver in women’s long jump T47 with 5.37m, while Parmod Bijarnia took silver in the men’s 1500m T46 in 4:09.65.India stood fourth on Friday, ahead of South Korea, which has 28 gold, 36 silver and 33 bronze (97). With finals scheduled for Saturday and no Indian entries in those events, the ranking remained vulnerable: three Korean gold would take them to 31 and move them ahead. Even two would level the gold count at 30, with Korea’s silver advantage deciding the tie-break.Whatever the final order, India’s record haul has made this a landmark campaign.
