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Asian Para Games: India cross 100 medal tally, achieve best-ever gold haul after Thulasimathi-Manasi's badminton triumph
Thulasimathi Murugesan and Manasi Girishchandra won the women’s doubles SL3-SU5 title at the Para Asian Games 2026. Their victory gave India its 28th gold.
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India's brilliant campaign at the Asian Para Games continued on Friday as well, a day before the continental show draws to a close. Para-badminton players Thulasimathi Murugesan and Manasi Girishchandra Joshi clinched the gold medal in the women's doubles SL3-SU5 category. Their dominant victory over China's Yang Qiuxia and Xiao Zuxian pushed India's gold medal count to 28, bettering the nation's gold medal tally of 27 recorded at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Para Games.
The Indian pair produced a great display to defeat the formidable Chinese pair 21-16, 21-13 in a 34-minute final.
Thulasimathi and Manasi controlled the match from the start and stayed consistently ahead. Although the Chinese pair tried to fight back in the second game, the Indians sealed a comfortable win.
Deep Dive
At the 2023 Asian Para Games in Hangzhou, Thulasimathi and Manasi took silver in the same category. The gold marks the end of a long wait for the top prize, which they missed in the last edition. The victory in Nagoya also helped avenge their defeat to the same Chinese pair at the 2025 Asian Championships final.
The 28 gold medals in Japan underscore a highly successful campaign for India in the Games that close on Saturday. Following the badminton triumph, India's total medal tally stands at 108 (28 gold, 34 silver, 46 bronze).
Third medal for Thulasimathi
This is not the first medal for Thulasimathi Murugesan at the Para Asian Games 2026. She claimed silver in the mixed doubles SL3-SU5 event partnering Nitesh Kumar.
She also claimed silver in the women's singles SU5 category, after losing to China's Yang Qiuxia in the final.
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Successful Para Asian Games 2026 campaign for badminton stars
It was a highly successful badminton campaign for India at the Asian Para Games, securing 16 medals -- three gold, five silver, eight bronze.
Paris Paralympic champion Nitesh Kumar won gold in the men's singles SL3 category by defeating compatriot Pramod Bhagat in the final. Naveen Sivakumar captured the top prize in the men's singles SL4 category
