Soumya Wins 1500m T12/13 Gold on Debut at Asian Para Games

One middle-distance race at the Asian Para Games 2026 gave India two medals. Soumya won the gold medal in the women's 1500m T12/13 event, running a personal best on her first appearance at the Games, and Radha Venkatesh finished second in the same event for the silver. Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated both runners on 19 October 2026.

A golden debut with a personal best

Soumya was competing at the Games for the first time, and she not only took the title but also bettered her own fastest time over the distance. A personal best is the quickest an athlete has ever run an event, so improving it in a continental final is harder than improving it in an ordinary meet. The Prime Minister said such an exceptional performance on debut spoke volumes about her talent, dedication and determination, and the Prime Minister's Office called it a golden debut.

Silver from the same race

Radha Venkatesh was the runner-up in the women's 1500m T12/13 final and collected the silver medal. The Prime Minister expressed pride in her achievement, said the country was celebrating her success and wished her many more achievements in the years to come. Because both Indians were in one race, a single final put two names on the medal table on the same evening.

What T12/13 means on a results sheet

In para athletics the letter T marks a track event, which is where races such as the 1500m sit, while F is used for field events. The numbers that follow name the sport class, and a combined class written with a slash means that athletes from two neighbouring classes run together for one set of medals because the entry numbers in each are small. So the gold and the silver here belong to the combined T12/13 race, not to a single class on its own.

What a paper setter asks

Questions on this result turn on the winner's name, the event with its class, the fact that the gold came on debut and with a personal best, and the name behind the silver. Mixing up the two Indian runners is the easiest mistake, since both appear in the same race on the same day.