Asian Para Games: Rinku Hooda wins gold, Ajeet Singh takes silver in Indian javelin sweep

Indian athletes continue to make headlines at the ongoing Asian Para Games in Aichi-Nagoya on Monday (Oct 19). Rinku Hooda and Ajeet Singh delivered a thrilling one-two finish in the men’s javelin throw F46 event to bring more laurels to India on an already successful day. Rinku edged his compatriot by just nine centimetres to win the gold medal and secure India’s third podium finish on the first day of the competition.

While Rinku produced a season-best throw of 65.11m to grab the top spot, Ajeet also registered his season-best of 65.02m to settle for the silver. Rizal Bagus Saktyono of Indonesia bagged bronze with a personal-best throw of 55.30m in the final field.

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The contest between the two javelin throwers went down to the wire, with Rinku’s final attempt proving just enough to separate the two and help him bag a gold medal. Similar to the double podium finish this time, India also dominated the men’s javelin F46 event at the previous edition in Hangzhou, where Sundar Singh Gurjar secured a gold medal with a world-record throw of 68.60m. Rinku finished second in 2022 with his best throw of 67.08m. Ajeet, however, took home bronze with a 63.52m throw.

The F46 classification is for athletes with impairments involving an above- or below-elbow amputation, or an equivalent impairment.

Gold and Silver in Women's 1500m T12/T13

Earlier, India also secured a 1-2 finish at the 2026 Asian Para Games, with Soumya Kumar winning gold and Radha Venkatesh claiming silver in the women’s 1500m T12/T13 event on Monday (Oct 19).

Running with guide Bharath Kumar, Soumya registered her personal best of 5:12.39 to earn 621 points, while Radha, accompanied by guide Govind Solanki, bagged silver with 421 points after finishing in 5:30.90.

Japan’s Mana Sasaki took bronze with 336 points despite recording a faster time of 5:12.15, as the combined T12/T13 event used a points-based system to determine the final standings.