The 2026 Asian Para Games will officially begin its medal events on Monday, with some of India’s elite para athletes and para shooters set to launch the country’s medal hunt.
India has sent a 168-athlete contingent to Aichi-Nagoya. They will compete across 11 sports over the next seven days, aiming for continental glory in Japan.
Several Indian athletes in para badminton and para table tennis have already acclimatised to the conditions, having begun their campaigns in the preliminary rounds.
Paralympic Champions like Pramod Bhagat, Nitesh Kumar, Sumit Antil, Avani Lekhara, and Harvinder Singh are some of the elite athletes for India who will be targeting a gold in Japan.
India won 111 medals at Hangzhou, including 29 golds, its best-ever haul at the Asian Games. Repeating that performance may be difficult, as the Asian Paralympic Committee has offered limited quotas in every sport this time.
For example, India sent 123 athletes at the 2022 Asian Para Games in Para athletics, but this time the available quotas were almost half, and India has sent just 62 athletes.
Additionally, India will miss the 12 medals it won in chess and canoeing in Hangzhou, as these sports are not part of these Games in Aichi-Nagoya.
India is also not fielding teams in taekwondo and rowing.
Based on India’s recent international form, previous Asian Games performances and the strength of the 2026 field, here is our projected medal tally for India in Aichi-Nagoya.
Projected medal tally: 90-95
Para Athletics (45-50)
Although the Indian para athletics contingent has been reduced to almost half its previous size, the impact on the medal tally is expected to be limited thanks to the country’s rising strength in track events.
India could secure 15-20 medals on the track in Aichi-Nagoya, led by elite performers such as Simran Sharma, Preethi Pal and Deepthi Jeevanji.
Reigning Commonwealth champion Dilip Gavit, along with record holders Rakeshbhai Bhatt, Pranav Desai and Sharath Shankarappa, will also be strong favourites for multiple medals.
In the high jump, India will be favourites to claim all three gold medals through Nishad Kumar, Shailesh Kumar and Praveen Kumar. Meanwhile, Dharambir, Pranav Soorma and Amit will look to repeat their podium sweep in the club throw.
Nishad Kumar (T47), who has recently taken up the long jump, could add another medal in that event alongside defending champion Solairaj Dharmaraj (T64).
India will also aim to cross double digits in the combined medal tally from the men’s javelin throw, shot put and discus throw, with athletes such as Sumit Antil, Rinku and Sachin Khilari in action.
In the women’s events, Bhagyashri Jadhav (shot put), Nimisha Suresh (long jump) and Karamjyoti (discus throw) are also capable of reaching the podium.
For Badminton (14-16)
Indian shuttlers enjoyed their best-ever performance in Hangzhou with 21 medals, but they may struggle to match that tally this time due to stronger competition.
For instance, India claimed three medals in the women’s SL3 and SL4 singles events last time, yet any medal in these categories appears unlikely on this occasion.
Similarly, the four medals won in the men’s doubles categories previously may prove difficult to repeat, with South Korea posing stiff competition.
Nevertheless, the contingent remains a strong favourite to cross the double-digit mark, thanks to its depth in the men’s singles events, where four to five medals are expected.
India will also be hoping for a couple of gold medals in men’s singles SL3, featuring Pramod Bhagat and Nitesh Kumar, and in men’s singles SL4, with Suhas Yathiraj and Naveen Sivakumar.
For Shooting (5-7)
The Indian rifle contingent, led by two-time Paralympic medallist Avani Lekhara and recent LA 2028 quota winner Mona Agarwal, will target two to three medals in Japan.
In the pistol events, Manish Narwal will once again be the key athlete to watch, alongside youngster Rudransh Khandelwal and 25m shooter Amir Bhat.
Reigning bronze medallist Rubina Francis will aim to defend her medal in the women’s air pistol and help push India’s pistol medal tally to three or four.
However, elite competition from Chinese, South Korean and Iranian shooters is expected once more, and India may find it difficult to match the six-medal haul achieved at Hangzhou 2022.
Para Archery (9-12)
Indian para archers are once again expected to be among the biggest contributors to the medal tally and could surpass the double-digit medal count that eluded them last time.
In the compound events, India will field both individual world champions, Toman Kumar and Sheetal Devi, and enter as medal favourites across all five categories.
In recurve, Paralympic champion Harvinder Singh and in-form Bhawna Choudhary will spearhead the challenge as the team aims to improve on the single medal won at the previous edition.
India will also compete in the women’s W1 events for the first time through Swati Chaudhary, boosting their medal prospects and raising hopes of securing a couple of medals in the category.
Others
For Swimming (4-6):
India has sent a 16-member swimming contingent to Japan and will be expecting 4-5 medals, with swimmers like Himanshu Nandal, Ravi Budigina, Suyash Jadhav, Swatik Patel and Niranjan Mukundan.
Himanshu is competing in five events for India and is in the top 3/4 in rankings in all of them and can win multiple medals if he could produce season-best times.
Table Tennis (2-3):
Baby Sahana Ravi can win the first medal for India as she is just a win away from confirming a medal.
The second-seeded Indian pair of Bhavina Patel and Subham Wadhwa might also win a medal.
Bhavina Patel and Sonalben Patel were among the medal favourites in the singles events, but both could face tough quarter-final matches that might see them fall just short of the podium.
For Powerlifting (1-2):
India has sent an eight-member para powerlifting team and will be hoping to secure a couple of medals.
Kasthuri Rajamani (67kg) stands as the country’s strongest medal prospect, holding the third-best season-best mark in her category.
In the men’s events, Ashok (65Kg) and Parmjeet Kumar (59Kg) could also challenge for medals, though both will need their best as they currently rank fourth in their respective weight classes based on season-best lifts.
Judo (2-3)
India has sent a seven-member judo squad that includes Paralympic medallist Kapil Parmar and reigning bronze medallist Kokila Kaushiklate.
Both judokas are seeded second in their respective categories and will be among the favourites to win medals at this edition of the Games.