Why India slipped in Asian Para Games standings despite 24 medals; China extend lead

NEW DELHI: India enjoyed a spectacular medal rush at the Asian Para Games 2026 on Tuesday, winning 24 medals, including five golds, but the impressive haul was not enough to prevent the country from slipping from fourth to sixth in the standings as rivals also enjoyed a bumper day in Aichi-Nagoya. India finished Day 2 with 35 medals — nine gold, 11 silver and 15 bronze — after adding five gold, six silver and 13 bronze medals to Monday's tally. However, the medal table is ranked primarily by the number of gold medals won, followed by silver and bronze, rather than the overall medal count. That distinction proved crucial. South Korea moved to fourth with 12 gold medals, while Iran climbed to fifth with 10. India, with nine golds, dropped to sixth despite having more medals than South Korea.

China continued to dominate the competition, extending their lead at the top with 70 gold medals and 149 medals overall. The gap between China and the chasing nations remained substantial, with Uzbekistan in second place on 17 golds and 56 medals. Hosts Japan, despite having 63 medals — seven more than Uzbekistan — occupied third place with 16 golds. Uzbekistan's superior gold count kept them ahead. Thailand were seventh with 41 medals, including eight golds. Kazakhstan, Indonesia and Malaysia completed the top 10 in the standings. India's position was therefore not a reflection of a poor day. Rather, the competition at the top intensified as rival nations accumulated gold medals at a faster rate.

India's five gold medals on Tuesday came through an outstanding athletics performance, led by Nishad Kumar and Deepthi Jeevanji. Nishad won the men's high jump T47 title with a Games-record clearance of 2.04m, adding to his long jump gold from Monday. He became only the third Indian to win two gold medals in a single edition of the Asian Para Games. Deepthi reaffirmed her continental supremacy by winning the women's 400m T20 gold in a Games-record time of 56.36 seconds. Simran claimed the women's 200m T12 title in a Games-record 24.80 seconds, while Pranav Soorma won the men's discus throw combined F51/52/53 event with an Asian-record effort of 11.66m. Devender Kumar completed India's gold rush by winning the men's discus throw F43/64 event.

The five golds provided a significant boost, but India's six silver and 13 bronze medals also contributed heavily to the 24-medal haul. The country's overall tally rose from 11 to 35 in just one day. India will look to convert its strong performances in archery and badminton into further medals in the coming days. However, to climb the standings, the focus will be on adding more golds rather than simply increasing the overall medal count.