Deepthi Jeevanji won the women's 400m T20 final at the Asian Para Games in Nagoya on Tuesday, giving India its first gold of the day and taking the country's overall gold count to five. The Telangana runner crossed the line in 56.36 seconds, more than two seconds clear of Japan's Niina Kanno, who took silver in 58.92 seconds, according to India Today's live coverage.
The 22-year-old had already lowered the Games record to 57.57 seconds in the heats. She then went faster again in the final, per the same report.
India closed the day sixth in the standings with five golds, seven silvers and nine bronzes — 21 medals in all.
Why it matters
India's shooting contingent has been the story of the Games so far, and Tuesday added to it. Manish Narwal took silver in the men's 10m air pistol SH1 final, finishing behind South Korea's Jo Jeongdu, while Srishti claimed bronze in the women's 10m air pistol SH1. India Today noted the contrast with the able-bodied Asian Games in 2026, where the country's pistol and rifle shooters struggled badly.
Narwal's career has been building toward results like this. India Today reports that he began shooting in 2016, has won medals at both the Tokyo and Paris Olympics, and received the Padma Shri in 2022. His teammate Rudransh Khandelwal exited early and placed seventh in a field of eight.
Ashok Malik turns Glasgow disappointment into silver
Para powerlifter Ashok Kumar Malik won silver in the men's 65kg category, reversing a frustrating result at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow earlier in 2026. According to India Today, Malik finished fourth there despite a personal-best lift of 200kg. He opened with 195kg, moved to 200kg on his second attempt, then missed 205kg on his third. His total of 143.8 points under the bodyweight-adjusted system left him 9.7 points short of bronze medallist Bonnie Bunyau Gustin of Malaysia.
In Nagoya, that near-miss became a podium finish.
Medals across javelin and table tennis
Pradeep Kumar and Ayush Verma both reached the podium in the men's javelin F53/F54 final. Pradeep threw 27.45m to take second in the F54 category, while Ayush's 17.88m earned third in F53. Iran's Erfan Bondori led the combined standings with 30.24m, India Today reported.
Para table tennis produced a run of bronze medals. Prachi Pandey lost her women's singles Class 6 semi-final 0-3 to Iraq's Al-Dayyeni Najlah, who won 11-9, 11-2, 11-8. Ravi Baby Sahana went out 0-3 to China's Mao Jingdian in the Class 9 semi-finals, 8-11, 2-11, 4-11. Sonalben Patel, a Khelo India athlete, reached the Class 3 final but lost 0-3 to South Korea's Yoon Jiyu, 11-7, 11-5, 11-6. Bhavina Patel also added a bronze in the table tennis competition.
Sheetal Devi broke another world record on her way to the women's compound quarter-finals, and Sheetal and Payal Nag were due to compete later in the day.
Deepthi's gold continues a rapid rise. India Today reports that SAI coach N Ramesh first spotted her at a state-level meet in Telangana when she was 15. She won gold at the 2023 Asian Para Games, set a world record of 55.07 seconds on her way to the 2024 world title, and took bronze at the Paris Paralympics.
The athletics and shooting finals continue through the week in Aichi-Nagoya, with India's compound archers and remaining table tennis players still to compete.
