Praveen Sharma clinched the bronze medal in the men’s shot put F11 event at the Asian Para Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan on Tuesday.
He registered a personal best throw of 13.86 metres to finish on the podium.
His best effort came in the final round, improving on his earlier throw of 13.60 metres in the fourth attempt. His late surge helped him secure third place in a competitive field of six athletes, adding another medal to India’s campaign at the continental event.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Amirhossein Alipour won the gold medal with an Asian record throw of 14.99 metres and his compatriot Mahdi Olad took silver with an effort of 13.93 metres. Sharma finished only seven centimetres behind Olad.
Sharma has an impressive record across national and international competitions. At the Asian Youth Para Games 2025, he won gold in the men’s shot put F11 and silver in the men’s discus throw U20 F11/F12/F13 event.
He also secured silver in the men’s shot put F11 and bronze in the discus throw F11 at the Khelo India Para Games 2025. At the World Para Athletics Grand Prix 2026 in New Delhi, he finished first in the men’s shot put F11/F12/F20 event with a throw of 13.31 metres and took silver in discus throw F11/F12.
With his personal-best performance in Nagoya, Sharma has added another important achievement to his growing résumé and strengthened India’s presence in para-athletics.
Hailing from Bansarai village in Rajasthan’s Dholpur district, Sharma lost his eyesight at the age of two following a severe adverse reaction to medication that caused Stevens-Johnson Syndrome. Despite the challenges, he developed a passion for sports and began his para-athletics journey in 2021 under coach Suresh Kumar.
Competing in the F11 classification, which caters to athletes with complete or near-complete visual impairment, Sharma specialises in both shot put and discus throw.