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Indian para-athlete Ayush Verma clinched the gold medal in the men's shot put F53 event at the Asian Para Games 2026 on Wednesday, taking India's gold medal count to 10 and overall tally to 38.
Ayush recorded a best effort of 8.16 metres with his fifth attempt in the seated throwing event to secure the top spot on the podium. He had earlier won a bronze medal in the men's javelin F53/54 event on Tuesday. With Ayush's gold, India remained sixth in the overall medal standings at the continental para-sporting event. In para-badminton, Paralympic medallist Suhas Yathiraj advanced to the men's singles SL4 semifinals with a straight-game victory over South Korea's N. Cho. Suhas won 21-12, 21-16 to assure himself of a medal. However, India's Sukant Kadam suffered a quarterfinal exit in the same category after losing a closely contested three-game encounter against Indonesia's Fredy Setiawan. Sukant went down 17-21, 21-18, 15-21. Prem Kumar Ale also bowed out in the men's singles WH1 quarterfinals, losing 13-21, 12-21 to South Korea's Haeseong Park. In the women's singles WH1 event, Pallavi Kaluvehalli's campaign ended after she suffered her third consecutive group-stage defeat. She lost 4-21, 4-21 to Japan's Sena Tomoyose and failed to progress to the next round. India narrowly missed another medal in para-archery as Toman Kumar and Shyam Sunder Swami finished fourth in the men's compound doubles event. The Indian pair lost 153-154 to China in the bronze medal match. Toman's final shot, which yielded an eight, proved decisive, as a nine would have forced a shoot-off while a 10 would have secured victory for India. Ayush's gold provided a boost to India's campaign in Nagoya, while Suhas's progression to the semifinals ensured the country remained in contention for another para-badminton medal. (ANI)
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