India sent its largest ever contingent of athletes to the 4th Asian Para Games in Hangzhou, China. They displayed an impressive level of strength and determination on the global stage with a remarkable total of 309 athletes, of which 196 were men and 113 were women.
Apart from this, India has also set a record for gold medals in the ongoing games. India has achieved a remarkable feat in the fourth edition of the Asian Para Games by clinching 19 gold medals. This performance has surpassed their previous record of 15 gold medals at the 2018 games in Jakarta.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the performance of the Para athletes, calling it a “monumental achievement”.
"This momentous occasion embodies the unyielding determination of our athletes. A rousing ovation for our exceptional Para athletes who have etched their names in history and filled every Indian heart with immense joy. Their dedication, tenacity and unwavering drive to excel is truly inspiring! May this landmark achievement serve as a beacon to inspire future generations," Modi tweeted.
Currently, India is sixth on the leaderboard with 18 gold, 21 silver and 29 bronze medals.
The historic 16th gold medal for the country was won by Sachin Sarjerao Khilari in the Men's F-46 Shot Put event, while the 73rd medal for the country came in the form of a bronze medal for Nithya Sre in the Women's Single SH6 event.
The stellar performance of the Indian athletes continued on the fourth day of the Games as Narayan Thakur opened with a bronze medal in the Men's 100m T35. Later, Shreyansh Trivedi won the bronze medal in the men's 100m T37.
While Khilari bagged the gold medal in the Men's F-46 Shot Put event, Rohit Kumar grabbed the bronze medal in the same event. Sukant Kadam brought laurels for the country as he bagged bronze medal in Men's Singles Para Badminton - SL4 event while the archery team of Adil Mohamed and Naveen Dalal got their hands on bronze medals in Men's Doubles - W1 event.
Another gold medal for India was won by shooter Sidhartha Babu in the R6 Mixed 50m Rifles Prone SH-1. In the process, he also set a new Asian Para Games record with a remarkable score of 247.7 points and eventually booked his place at the 2024 Paris Paralympics.
Bhagyashri Madhavrao Jadhav won a silver medal for the country in the Women's Shot Put - F34 event, while Nithya Sre won a bronze medal in the Para Badminton Women's Singles - SH6 event.
Later, a bronze medal was bagged by the team of Sivarajan Solaimalai and Krishna Nagar in the Para Badminton Men's Doubles - SH6 event and another bronze medal was won by Manisha Ramadass in the Women's Singles - SU5 event.
The team of Manisha Ramadass and Mandeep Kaur also won a bronze medal in the Para Badminton Women's Doubles - SL3/SU5 event.
The third gold medal of the day for India was won by the team of Sheetal Devi and Rakesh Kumar in the Para Archery Mixed Team Compound event, while Manisha Rathi won a bronze medal in the Para Chess Women's Standard event.
The previous best performance by Indian para athletes was at the 2018 Jakarta games when they won 72 medals including 15 gold, 24 silver and 33 bronze.