India secures double podium in women's 1500m T12/T13, while Rakshitha Raju claims bronze in T11 event
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The 2026 Asian Para Games are being held in Aichi-Nagoya. Athletes in T12 and T13 classifications compete using a points-based system.
India secured a 1-2 finish in the women’s 1500m T12/T13 event at the 2026 Asian Para Games, with Soumya Kumar winning gold and Radha Venkatesh claiming silver on Monday. Soumya, running alongside her guide Bharath Kumar, clocked a personal best of 5:12.39 to finish on top with 621 points. Radha, who competed with guide Govind Solanki, secured the silver medal with 421 points after recording a time of 5:30.90. Japan’s Mana Sasaki took bronze with 336 points, despite clocking 5:12.15, faster than both Indian athletes. As the T12 and T13 classifications were combined for the event, the final standings were determined using a points-based system that accounted for the athletes’ classification and performance.
The double podium finish added to India’s medal tally at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Para Games, with Soumya and Radha delivering a memorable result in the middle-distance event.
Meanwhile, India’s Rakshitha Raju clinched bronze in the women’s 1500m T11 event at the Asian Para Games, clocking 5:31.45 to finish third. Her compatriot Ravanni Valasanaini narrowly missed out on a podium finish, placing fourth with a personal-best time of 5:41.85. China’s Shanshan He and Zengli Huang claimed gold and silver, respectively.
Mumbai batter Chinmay Sutar scored 400 not out off 517 balls in a Ranji Trophy match between Mizoram and Nagaland at Sovima, recording the second-highest score in Ranji history.
India's Nishad Kumar won gold in the men's T47 long jump at the Asian Para Games with a 7.11m effort. Meanwhile, Mona Agarwal won gold in shooting, beating compatriot Avani Lekhara who took silver.
At the 2026 Asian Para Games in Nagoya, India's Mona Agarwal and Avani Lekhara finished first and second in the women's 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 qualification, with Agarwal setting a new Asian Para Games record of 629.1 points. In para-archery, Sheetal Devi equalled the world record with 704 points in the women's compound qualification. Indian shooters Rakesh Nidagundi and Swaroop Unhalkar also qualified for the men's final, while Payal Nag placed joint fifth in archery.
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has endorsed the return of Bhuvneshwar Kumar to the T20I squad for the New Zealand tour and advocated for Mohammed Shami's recall in Test and ODI formats, while urging careful workload management for Jasprit Bumrah ahead of the 2027 ODI World Cup. He highlighted the importance of the New Zealand tour as a benchmark for India's preparations, citing similar conditions expected in South Africa, and expressed concerns over India's World Test Championship qualification chances and fielding standards.
The Indian contingent at the Para Asian Games opening ceremony wore ceremonial blazers featuring Indus Valley civilization motifs. Led by Simran Sharma and Pramod Bhagat, the 281-member team represents India across 11 disciplines in the ongoing event.
India is sending 166 athletes to the Asian Para Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, starting October 18. The team aims to sustain its recent growth in international para-sports following a record 108-medal performance at the 2023 Hangzhou Games.