Nagoya: Paralympic champion Praveen Kumar won the men’s high jump gold at the Asian Para Games in Aichi Nagoya, Japan, on Wednesday, 21 October 2026, clearing 2.05 metres to set a new Games record. Banti made it an Indian one two with silver, and a gold in the shot put for Ayush Verma lifted India’s tally to 41 medals by Wednesday morning (IST).
Praveen’s win was India’s 11th gold of the Games, and 10 of those have come in athletics, Sportstar reported.
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How Praveen Kumar raised the bar
The Games record of 1.95 metres had stood since Jakarta 2018, when Uzbekistan’s Temurbek Giyazov set it. Praveen first went past it with a clearance of 2 metres and then cleared 2.05 metres on his third and final attempt at that height, according to Sportstar and the Hindustan Times.
Banti finished second with a personal best of 1.92 metres; he tried 1.95 metres but could not clear it in three attempts. Giyazov took bronze with 1.86 metres.
Sportstar and Open magazine listed the event as the T64 high jump, while the Hindustan Times and The Times of India called it the combined T44/64 event. The Hindustan Times explained that T64 covers athletes who compete with a prosthetic lower limb and T44 covers athletes with a lower limb impairment who compete without one, and that the two classes are often grouped together to give a fair field.
Who is Praveen Kumar?
Praveen comes from Govindgarh village in Gautam Buddha Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh and was born with a lower limb impairment, the Hindustan Times reported. He trains under coach Dr Satyapal Singh.
- Tokyo 2020 Paralympics (held in 2021): silver, with an Asian record of 2.07 metres.
- Hangzhou Asian Para Games: gold.
- Paris 2024 Paralympics: gold, with a clearance of 2.08 metres.
- 2025 World Para Athletics Championships in New Delhi: bronze at 2 metres.
Ayush Verma and the rest of Wednesday’s medals
Ayush Verma won the men’s shot put F53 title with a best throw of 8.16 metres, which came on his fifth attempt, Open magazine reported. It was his second medal in Japan after a bronze in the javelin F53/54 on Tuesday.
On the track, Rakeshbhai Bhatt took bronze in the men’s 100m T37 in a personal best of 11.50 seconds. According to Open magazine, Anubhav Choudhary added another bronze in the 100m T35 in 12.72 seconds, and archers Sheetal Devi and Payal Nag won silver in the women’s compound doubles after losing the final 141 to 150 to China.
Open magazine put India’s count at 11 gold, 13 silver and 17 bronze at its latest update on Wednesday morning, with events still going on. The magazine also said Suhas Yathiraj and Naveen Sivakumar had reached the men’s singles SL4 badminton semi finals, which guarantees each of them a medal.
Tuesday: five golds and two Games records
Wednesday’s medals built on a big day on Tuesday, when India won five gold medals and climbed to sixth place on the medal table with 35 medals (nine gold, 11 silver and 15 bronze), Olympics.com and IANS reported.
- Deepthi Jeevanji kept her 400m T20 title in 56.36 seconds, a Games record and quicker than her winning time of 56.59 seconds at the last edition.
- Nishad Kumar won the high jump T47 with a Games record of 2.04 metres, a day after winning long jump gold with 7.11 metres.
- Simran Sharma won the women’s 200m T12 in a Games record of 24.80 seconds, and Tejalben Damor took bronze in a personal best of 25.23 seconds.
- Pranav Soorma won the discus F51/52/53 with an Asian record of 11.66 metres, with Ram Ratan Singh second.
- Devender Kumar, Rakesh and Pardeep Kumar swept the podium in the combined discus F43/44/62/64.
Shooter Manish Narwal won silver in the men’s 10m air pistol SH1 and earned India a quota place for the LA 2028 Paralympics, and powerlifter Ashok Kumar Malik won silver in the 65kg class. India’s table tennis players won five bronze medals, the country’s best haul in the sport at a single Asian Para Games, Olympics.com reported. Among them, Baby Sahana Ravi and Prachi Pandey became the first Indians to win medals in the standing classes.
At the end of Tuesday China led the table with 149 medals, including 70 gold, followed by Uzbekistan with 17 gold and hosts Japan with 16 gold, according to IANS.
Can India match Hangzhou?
India travelled to Japan hoping to build on its record campaign at the last Asian Para Games in Hangzhou. Olympics.com puts that haul at 111 medals with 29 gold, which earned India fifth place. ESPN, which reported a smaller contingent of 168 athletes this time, gives the Hangzhou total as 109 medals with 27 gold. This edition has 489 medal events across 19 sports, according to ESPN.
Competition continues for several more days, so India’s count will keep changing. Readers can look back at how Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed India’s Asian Games stars last week, and at India’s bid to host the 2036 Olympics. For the bigger picture, see our list of India’s Olympic medal winners.
FAQ
What record did Praveen Kumar set at the Asian Para Games?
He cleared 2.05 metres in the men’s high jump, a new Games record, beating the 1.95 metres set at Jakarta 2018.
How many medals has India won so far?
India had 41 medals, 11 of them gold, by Wednesday morning (IST), according to Open magazine.
Sources
- Sportstar, 21 October 2026: Praveen Kumar gold and Games record, Banti silver, Giyazov bronze, India’s 11th gold with 10 from athletics.
- Hindustan Times, 21 October 2026: record details, T44 and T64 classes, Praveen Kumar profile and career medals, Rakeshbhai Bhatt bronze.
- The Times of India, 21 October 2026: cross check of high jump results.
- Open magazine, 21 October 2026: Ayush Verma shot put gold, Anubhav Choudhary bronze, archery silver, badminton semi finals, tally of 41 medals.
- Olympics.com, 20 October 2026: Tuesday results, five golds, tally of 35, table tennis and shooting medals, Hangzhou record.
- IANS via India Tribune, 20 October 2026: Tuesday results, medal table positions, Nishad Kumar long jump.
- ESPN, 19 October 2026 (live tracker): contingent size, number of medal events and Hangzhou comparison.