Aichi-Nagoya, Double gold medallist shooter Mona Agarwal and athlete Nishad Kumar proudly carried the national flag as India’s para-athletes marched at the closing ceremony of the Asian Para Games 2026 at the Paloma Mizuho Stadium on Friday, capping off the nation’s most successful continental campaign with a historic haul of 114 medals.

The Indian contingent achieved an extraordinary tally of 30 gold, 35 silver, and 49 bronze medals in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. The final medal count surpassed India’s previous record of 108 medals set at the 2022 Hangzhou edition, where the country secured 27 gold, 32 silver, and 49 bronze medals after three medals were revoked due to doping violations.

India’s record-breaking performance stood out as the contingent comprised just 168 para-athletes, compared to the 309 competitors sent to Hangzhou three years ago. Despite the smaller team size, Indian athletes delivered stellar performances across para-athletics, para-badminton, para-archery, para-shooting, table tennis, and swimming.

In para-badminton, Paralympic champion Nitesh Kumar defeated world champion Pramod Bhagat 21-18, 21-16 in the men’s singles SL3 final to claim gold and lead an all-Indian podium. Thulasimathi Murugesan and Manasi Girishchandra Joshi clinched gold in the women’s doubles SL3-SU5, defeating China’s Qiuxia Yang and Zuxian Xiao 21-16, 21-13.

Thulasimathi also secured a silver in women’s singles SU5, while Nithya Sre Sumathy Sivan finished with silver in women’s singles SH6 after losing to China’s Fengmei Li.

India created history in para-archery as Harvinder Singh and debutant Vijay Sundi clinched gold in men’s recurve doubles. Pooja Jatyan and Bhawna Choudhary claimed silver in women’s recurve doubles, earning India its first-ever medal in the event at the Asian Para Games.

Para-athletics remained the biggest contributor to India’s medal tally, highlighted by world-record performances. Haney set a world record of 60.49 metres in the men’s javelin throw F37/38 event to win gold in the T37 category. Debutant Sandeep won gold in the men’s 400m T64 with a world record time of 52.28 seconds in the T44 category, while teammate Ajay Kumar bagged bronze.

Indian throwers dominated the men’s javelin throw F42-F44/F61-F64 final to complete a podium sweep. Sumit secured gold in T64 with a throw of 72.46 metres for 1,112 points, Mahendra Gurjar won silver in T42 with a Games-record effort of 59.03 metres, and Sandip Sanjay Sargar claimed bronze in T44 with a Games-record throw of 64.48 metres.

Pranav Soorma won gold in the men’s club throw F51 with a Games-record distance of 32.87 metres, while Dharambir took bronze. Navdeep Singh earned bronze in the men’s javelin throw F40/41, and Rakeshbhai Bhatt secured bronze in the men’s 200m T37. Sandeep added a bronze in the men’s 100m T44, clocking 11.67 seconds to finish the Games with one gold, one bronze, and a world record.

In para-shooting, co-flag-bearer Mona Agarwal concluded her impressive campaign with gold in the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions SH1 with a score of 357.5 points, setting world and Asian Para Games records. She became the first Indian para-shooter to win a medal in this event at the Games.

In para-table tennis, 50-year-old Jehan Dorab Madan teamed up with Shubham Wadhwa to win bronze in the men’s doubles Class MD4, making Madan the oldest Indian medallist at the Asian Para Games. Para-swimmer Himanshu Nandal added a bronze in the men’s 100m freestyle S11 with a time of 1:05.90, taking his individual tally to three bronze medals.