India's track-and-field contingent delivered a remarkable performance at the Para Asian Games, winning 18 medals, including five gold, as the country climbed to fifth place in the overall standings on Wednesday.
Sprinter Simran, high-jumper Praveen Kumar and shot-putter Sachin Khilari set new Games records in their respective events, while Dilip Gavit and Ayush Verma also claimed gold medals.
India's overall medal tally rose to 62, comprising 14 gold, 21 silver and 27 bronze. Athletics accounted for 13 of the gold medals, underlining the contingent's dominance in the competition.
The country also secured medals in para-archery, swimming and powerlifting, while its badminton players ensured further podium finishes.
๐ฆ๐ถ๐บ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ด๐ผ๐น๐ฑ
Visually impaired sprinter Simran emerged as one of India's standout performers, winning the women's 100m T12 gold with a Games record time of 12.02 seconds.
The 26-year-old finished ahead of Iran's Hajar Safarzadeh, who clocked 12.30 seconds.
Simran's victory came just a day after she claimed the 200m title, also with a Games record, completing an impressive sprint double within 24 hours.
Her achievements were particularly significant as she battled fatigue caused by limited dietary options available to her as a strict vegetarian.
Ayush Verma secured India's first athletics gold of the day in the men's shot put F53 event, while Praveen Kumar followed with victory in the men's high jump T44/64 competition.
Sachin Khilari added another gold in the men's shot put F46 category, setting a Games record.
Dilip Gavit completed the five-gold haul with victory in the men's 100m T46/47 combined event.
๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ-๐๐๐ผ
Gavit, 23, clocked 10.69 seconds to win the men's 100m T46/47 combined event, while compatriot Mohammed Morssinganakath Basil secured silver in 10.72 seconds.
Basil, who competes in the T47 classification, also registered a Games record in his category.
The T46 and T47 classifications cover athletes with upper-limb impairments, with differences based on the nature and severity of the impairment.
Athletes from multiple classifications can compete together in combined events to ensure sufficient participation.
๐ฆ๐ถ๐น๐๐ฒ๐ฟ, ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฒ ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐น๐ ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐น๐น๐
India's athletics contingent also collected four silver medals during the morning session.
Banti finished second in the men's high jump T44/64, Bhagyashri Jadhav claimed silver in the women's shot put F34, Mohd Yasser secured the same position in the men's shot put F46 and Manjeet finished runner-up in the men's javelin F12/13.
Anubhav Choudhary won bronze in the men's 100m T35, Parveen finished third in the men's shot put F46 and Rakeshbhai Bhatt secured bronze in the men's 100m T37.
Preeti Pal, a double bronze medallist at the 2024 Paralympics, added another silver to her tally in the women's 100m T35 event, meant for athletes with cerebral palsy.
She had earlier finished second in the 200m T35 event on Tuesday, becoming one of three Indian athletes to win multiple medals in athletics at the Games.
The athletics contingent has secured 41 medals so far, including 13 gold, 13 silver and 16 bronze, according to the reported event-wise figures. With two full days of competition remaining, Indian athletes are targeting medals in 60 of the 62 events in which they are participating.
๐ฆ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฒ๐๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ฒ๐๐ถ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ถ๐น๐๐ฒ๐ฟ
Armless compound archer Sheetal Devi, who remains in contention for multiple medals, partnered Payal Nag to secure silver in the women's doubles competition.
The Indian pair lost to China in the final but added another medal to the country's growing tally.
In para-swimming, visually impaired Ravi Kartik Budigina claimed his second silver of the Games, finishing runner-up in the men's 100m backstroke S13 event.
Ravi clocked 1 minute 10.10 seconds in a four-swimmer field.
Himanshu Nandal also secured his second medal, winning bronze in the men's 100m breaststroke SB13 category with a timing of 1 minute 20.72 seconds.
Nandal, who has a severe visual impairment, had previously reached the podium in another swimming event.
๐๐ฎ๐ฑ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ผ๐ป ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐น๐ ๐ฎ๐๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ
India were assured of three medals in the men's singles SL4 badminton competition after defending champion Suhas LY, Naveen Sivakumar and Abhijeet Sakhuja advanced to the semifinals.
The SL4 classification features athletes with moderate lower-limb impairments.
In the men's doubles SH6 category, Krishna Nagar and Sivarajan Solaimalai secured silver after finishing second in the group standings.
The competition featured four teams in a single group, with medals awarded according to their final positions rather than through knockout matches.
๐ฃ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐น๐ถ๐ณ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐น๐ฎ๐ถ๐บ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฟ-๐ฏ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐๐ถ๐น๐๐ฒ๐ฟ
Indian powerlifter Kasthuri Rajamani, who was affected by polio, secured silver in the women's 67kg category, marking the biggest achievement of her sporting career.
Her performance further strengthened India's medal tally across disciplines.
With the eight-day Games scheduled to conclude on Saturday, India's athletes will look to build on their medal-winning performances in the remaining competitions.