India bag 17 medals, including 3 gold on Day 2 of Asian Para Games

Prachi Yadav became the first Indian to win paracanoeing gold at the Asian Para Games as she led the country’s medal rush for the second consecutive day here on Tuesday.

India won 17 medals on Tuesday, including three golds, taking the total to 34 in the first two days of the competition. India had won 17 medals on Monday, including six gold.

India finished Day 2 in fifth place in the standings, one spot lower than Monday, with nine gold, 12 silver and 13 bronze, behind China (165: 66 gold, 53 silver, 46 bronze), Iran (47), Japan (45) and Uzbekistan (38).

Prachi, who had won silver in the VL2 canoe category on Monday, secured her second medal at the Games when she took gold in the KL2 event.

Deepthi Jeevanji (women’s T20 400m) and Neeraj Yadav (men’s F54/55/56 discus throw) were the other gold medalists on Tuesday.

Sharath Shankarappa Makanahalli won the men’s T13 5000m event and his gold was initially counted and included in India’s medal tally.

But India’s number of gold medals was reduced to nine as there were only two participants in the event.

According to the Asian Paralympics Committee rulebook, it is up to the technical delegate to award medals in cases where there are fewer than three participants.

Prachi, 28, who is paralyzed below the waist, clocked 54.962 to complete the 500m distance and win gold in the KL2 event, meant for athletes who propel themselves with their arms and partial trunk and leg function. She is from Gwalior.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a series of tweets appreciated the medal-winning efforts of the Indian athletes.

“Congratulations to @ItzPrachi for winning the prestigious gold medal in the Para Canoe Women’s KL2 event. This was such an exceptional achievement that India is proud of. Best wishes for the efforts ahead,” Modi wrote on recognized the amazing effort put in by Prachi.

Deepthi went on to win gold in the women’s 400m race in the T20 category – meant for athletes with intellectual disabilities – with a record time for the Games and Asia of 56.69 seconds.

Indians won all three medals in the Men’s Discus Throw F54/55/56, with Neeraj Yadav winning the Games gold with an Asian record of 38.56 metres. Yogesh Kathuniya (42.13m) and Muthuraja (35.06m) came second and third respectively.

Ravi Rongali (F40 men’s shot put), Parmod (T46 men’s 1500m), Ajay Kumar (T64 men’s 400m) and Simran Sharma (T12 women’s 100m) each achieved silver on the track. Rakesh Bhaira took bronze in the T46 1500m men’s event.

The Prime Minister also mentioned their achievements on his X-page.

In para shooting, Rudransh Khandelwal and Manish Narwal secured silver and bronze respectively in the P1 men’s 10m air pistol SH1 event, while Rubina Francis secured bronze in the P2 women’s 10m air pistol SH1 category.

The bronze medal winners on the day were Manish Kaurav (Men’s KL3 Canoe) – Prachi’s husband -, Ashok (Men’s 65kg Powerlifting), Gajendra Singh (Men’s VL2 Canoe) and Ekta Bhayan (Club Throw F32/51 ladies ).

India bagged as many as 17 medals, including six gold, on the first day of competition, with star shooter Avani Lekhara leading the way.

Besides Avani (women’s R2 10m air rifle standing SH1), the other gold winners on Monday were Pranav Soorma (men’s F51 club throw), Shailesh Kumar (men’s T63 high jump), Nishad Kumar (men’s T47 high jump), Ankur Dhama (men’s T47 high jump). T11 5000m) and Praveen Kumar (T64 men’s high jump).

India will be represented by 313 athletes at the Hangzhou Para Asian Games, the highest number of any edition, with a target of winning 100 medals.

The country participates in 17 of the 22 sports, with athletes participating for the first time in rowing, canoeing, bowling, taekwondo and blind football.