Sandeep Kumar Gold Marks India's 100th Asian Para Games Medal

India's para athletes gathered five gold medals at the Asian Para Games on 23 October 2026, and one of them carried a landmark with it: the country's 100th medal of these Games.

The hundredth medal

Sandeep Kumar, appearing at the Asian Para Games for the first time, won the men's 400m T64 final and set a new world record while doing it. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi described the run as a golden moment for Indian para athletics and a proud milestone for the country, and pointed out that the debutant's victory was also India's 100th medal at the Games.

A second world record, on the field

The other world record of the day came in the throwing circle. Haney won the men's javelin throw F37/F38 gold with a world-record effort, which the Prime Minister called a remarkable achievement and a proud moment for Indian para athletics.

Golds in archery and badminton

In archery, Harvinder Singh and Vijay Sundi won the men's recurve doubles gold as a pair. Indian para badminton supplied two more champions. Naveen Sivakumar took the men's singles SL4 title on his debut at the Games, and Nitesh Kumar won men's singles SL3, with Pramod Bhagat finishing second in the same event, so both the gold and the silver in that class stayed with India.

The day's golds at a glance

Each win was marked by a message from the Prime Minister's Office, which said the performances had brought pride and glory to the nation and wished the athletes well for the seasons ahead. Two of the five champions, Sandeep Kumar and Naveen Sivakumar, were competing at the Asian Para Games for the first time, and both finished on the top step.