Kokila Assures Silver, Parmar in Bronze Medal Contention

Indian para judoka Kokila defeated reigning world champion Liu Yi of China by a golden score in the women's J2 -52kg semifinal at the Asian Para Games 2026 on Monday in Aichi-Nagoya, securing her place in the gold medal match and assuring herself of at least a silver medal. Kokila scored one Waza-ari and one Yuko during the bout, while Liu Yi managed to score a Yuko.

Meanwhile, Paris Paralympics bronze medallist Kapil Parmar lost against Junaedi of Indonesia by ippon in the Men's J1 -70kg semifinal, advancing to the bronze medal match. He had advanced to the semifinals of the men's J1 -70kg event after defeating Mongolia's Bat-erdene Baatarsuren by Ippon in 4 minutes and 53 seconds, securing a place in the top four.

Sheetal Devi Equals World Record in Archery

Earlier on Monday, Indian para-archer Sheetal Devi equalled the world record in the women's compound archery ranking round at the 2026 Asian Para Games, scoring 704 out of a possible 720 points at the Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Multipurpose Square. Turkey’s Oznur Cure is the other archer who jointly holds the world record. Sheetal Devi also bettered her previous Asian record of 698, set in Bangkok, Thailand, in March this year, by six points.

She scored 352 points in each half of the qualification round, recording 32 Xs and 25 10s to finish first and make a strong start to India's campaign in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. With this performance, she also set a new Asian Games record, surpassing her previous mark of 680 points set in Hangzhou in 2023. Fellow Indian archer Payal Nag also put up an impressive performance, scoring 675 points to finish joint fifth in the qualification standings. She recorded 12 Xs and 20 10s, scoring 334 points in the first half and improving to 341 in the second half. With their performances, Sheetal Devi and Payal topped the Para compound women's doubles ranking round with a combined score of 1,379 points, of which Sheetal contributed 704 points, while Payal scored 675. (ANI)