ARMLESS archer Sheetal Devi picked up two gold medals in the space of less than two hours to reaffirm her peerless credentials, while the track-and-field contingent remained the single biggest contributor to India’s tally that swelled to 88 at the Asian Para Games here. Sheetal, the 19-year-old sensation who is the reigning world champion and also the world number one, first combined withToman Kumar to defend the mixed team gold against Indonesia’sTeodora Audi Ayudia Ferelly and Ken Swagumilang 151-148. She then overcame a four-point deficit to defeat Singapore’s Alim Nur Syahidah 142-139 in a repeat of the Hangzhou 2023 individual final. The day started perfectly for India with Suvarna Raj taking the gold medal in women’s F54 discus throw with a best effort of 15.66m. The wheelchair-bound 44-year-old delivered a consistent performance, recording four throws beyond the 15-metre to secure the biggest win of her career. It got progressively better for the country, which now has 88 medals in its kitty, including 21 gold, 26 silver and 41 bronze as medals also came in from paraswimming, para-badminton and para-table tennis.

 

The biggest contributor remained para-athletics with 52 medals (18 gold, 16 silver and 18 bronze). Among the standout performances of the day was a Shailesh Kumar-led sweep of the men’s high jump T63 event, and gold medals from sprinters Anjanaben Bumbadiya and Dilip Mahadu Gavit in their respective 400m T47 competitions. Bumbadiya clinched the women’s gold with a timing of 59.97sec and was followed by compatriot Jayanti Behera (1:00.65sec) in the second place. In the men’s high jump T63 competition, Shailesh, who won a long jump bronze on Wednesday, led India’s domination with a Games record effort of 1.89m. F o r m e r Paralympic bronze-winner Varun Bhati secured the silver with a season’s best of 1.84m, while Rahul ended with the bronze after a jump of 1.81m. Later, Gavit, who claimed the top spot in the 100m event on Wednesday, won the men’s 400m T47 race by clocking 48.27sec. The day closed with long jumper Dharmaraj Solairaj successfully defending his Games crown with an Asian record effort of 7.15m in the T44/T62/T64 combined event.