India crosses 100 medals at Asian Para Games 2026 as Sandeep and Haney set world records
World-record golds from Sandeep and Haney took India past 100 medals at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Para Games, with Nitesh Kumar and Sheetal Devi among the other gold medallists.
India has crossed 100 medals at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Para Games in Japan, and it did so in style. Sandeep's world-record gold in the men's 400m T64 and Haney's world-record javelin throw on Friday, 23 October, pushed the Indian contingent into three figures, only the second time the country has gone past a century at an Asian Para Games. The previous best, 111 medals, came at Hangzhou 2022, and that number is now very much in sight.
Two world records in a day
Sandeep clocked 52.28 seconds to win the 400m T64 final at Nagoya's Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium, beating Saudi Arabia's Nour Alsana by 0.85 seconds. Teammate Ajay Kumar took bronze in 53.61, so India had two men on the podium of the same race. A world record on the biggest Asian stage is the kind of story that writes itself, and Sandeep made sure nobody had to exaggerate it.
Then came Haney. In the men's javelin F37/38 final, where the two classes compete together and are ranked on Raza points, he threw 60.49m, another world record, for 1116 points. Iran's Hormoz Seidikazpounji was a distant second. Two world records in a day is a strong argument that Indian para athletics is no longer just competing at this level. It is setting the pace.
Badminton and archery join the party
The courts were just as busy. In an all-Indian men's singles SL3 final, Nitesh Kumar beat Pramod Bhagat 21-18, 21-16, so India took gold and silver in the same event. Naveen Sivakumar added the SL4 singles gold, and in recurve archery, Harvinder Singh and Vijay Sundi beat China in the men's doubles final to claim another title.
That followed a huge 22 October for Sheetal Devi. She won the women's individual compound gold, edging Singapore's Nur Syahidah Alim 142-139 after the two were level at 95-95 with 10 arrows shot. She also won the compound mixed team gold with Toman Kumar, beating Indonesia 151-148, and earlier took silver in the women's doubles with Payal Nag. Two golds and a silver from one archer is a very good week at the office.
The athletics engine room
Track and field has done much of the heavy lifting. On 22 October, Shailesh Kumar won the men's high jump T63 gold with a Games record of 1.89m, and Varun Bhati and Rahul Saroha completed an all-Indian podium.
India sits fourth on the medal table, with China far ahead at the top. The Games close on 24 October, with the Hangzhou record of 111 medals as the target.
How to follow the results
Live results, schedules and medal tables are published on the organisers' official results site, results.apg2026.org. The organising committee also posts daily photo highlights and a daily newspaper, The Asian Para Times, on asianparagames-2026.org. If you only check one thing, check para athletics and para archery, where India has been strongest.
The FHM take
In our opinion, this is the best sports story India has right now, and it deserves far more screen time than it is getting. These athletes are setting world records, winning all-Indian finals and beating China in archery, often while most of the country is busy refreshing the cricket score. Sandeep, Haney, Nitesh and Sheetal are names worth knowing before the next Paralympics, not after. Learn them now. You will be hearing them again.
Sources: Business Standard (PTI), The Tribune (ANI)
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