India began its campaign at the Asian Para Games 2026 with encouraging performances in para badminton and para table tennis, while the men’s blind football team suffered a 0-2 defeat against South Korea on Friday.
Two-time Paralympics silver medallist Suhas L.Y. led India’s badminton charge with a comfortable victory, while Tokyo Paralympics silver medallist Bhavina Patel opened her table tennis campaign with a straight-game win.
Several other Indian shuttlers and paddlers also recorded victories on the opening day of competition in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.
Suhas L.Y., Krishna Nagar Lead India’s Badminton Wins
Defending champion Suhas L.Y. began his men’s singles SL4 Group E campaign with a dominant 21-8, 21-11 win over Bangladesh’s Joytu Dhar. The IAS officer, who won silver medals at the Tokyo and Paris Paralympics and gold at the previous Asian Para Games, controlled the contest to register a convincing opening victory.
Abhijeet Sakhuja also impressed in the SL4 category, defeating Chinese Taipei’s En-chuan Yeh 21-17, 21-12.
In the men’s singles SH6 category, Tokyo Paralympics gold medallist Krishna Nagar started strongly with a 21-5, 21-4 win over Chinese Taipei’s Jia-siang Ling in Group C. Sivarajan Solaimalai also secured a winning start, beating the Philippines’ John Cyrus Maclang 21-7, 21-6 in Group D.
India’s mixed doubles pair of Manisha Ramdass and Pramod Bhagat defeated China’s Lichuan Xiong and Tongtong Li 21-16, 19-21, 21-16 in Group A. However, Manasi Joshi and Ruthick Raghupati lost 15-21, 4-21 to Indonesia’s Khalimatus Sadiyah and Fredy Setiawan.
In women’s singles SL3, former world champion Manasi Joshi went down 15-21, 21-14, 15-21 to China’s Yuemei Liu. Sanjana Kumari provided another positive result for India, defeating Hong Kong’s Chai Saeyang 21-4, 21-6.
Bhavina Patel, Baby Sahana Ravi Shine In Table Tennis
Bhavina Patel made a confident start in women’s singles Class 4-5 Group A, defeating Kuwait’s Ahad Alrasheedi 11-6, 11-3, 11-6.
Baby Sahana Ravi also registered a 3-0 victory, beating Vietnam’s Thi Hoa Phuong Nguyen 11-6, 11-5, 11-4 in women’s singles Class 9 Group B.
In the men’s competition, Shubham Wadhwa defeated Nepal’s Keshav Thapa 11-6, 11-4, 11-9 in Class 3. Jehan Madan completed another Indian victory by beating compatriot Sandeep Dangi 11-8, 12-10, 10-12, 11-6 in Class 1.
India Lose Blind Football Opener Against South Korea
India’s men’s blind football team endured a difficult start, losing 0-2 to South Korea in their preliminary-round match. South Korea’s Jang Yeongjun scored in each half to secure the victory.
India will look to bounce back against hosts Japan on Saturday. China, Iran and Thailand are also competing alongside India, Japan and South Korea for medals in the event.
The top teams in the preliminary round will compete for gold, while the third- and fourth-placed sides will contest the bronze medal match.