Asian Para Games 2026 Day 1 Live Updates: India target strong start as Nishad Kumar, Avani Lekhara lead day 1 challenge

India’s para-athletes will begin their Asian Para Games 2026 campaign in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, on Monday, October 19, with a packed schedule across 11 sports. Nishad Kumar, Avani Lekhara, Sheetal Devi, Harvinder Singh and Pramod Bhagat are among the key Indian athletes in action.

India will have several medal opportunities on Day 1, with Nishad competing in the men’s long jump T47 final, Avani Lekhara and Mona Agarwal featuring in shooting, and Jaspreet Kaur contesting the women’s 45kg para powerlifting final. Swimming and athletics will also offer multiple medal events, including finals featuring Gopichand Lingutla, Niranjan Mukundan, Vaishnavi Jagtap, Ajeet Singh Yadav and Rinku Hooda.

India’s campaign will begin early with para archery, badminton, shooting and table tennis events, while the men’s blind football team will face Thailand at 9 AM IST. With several medal events scheduled through the afternoon, India will look to make a strong start to the competition.