Thulasimathi and Nitesh drive India to three golds as badminton haul reaches 16 at Asian Para Games
India ended their badminton campaign at the Asian Para Games on Friday, October 23, collecting three gold medals and finishing with 16 podium places, with Thulasimathi Murugesan and Nitesh Kumar among the standouts.
The Indian contingent closed the competition with three gold, five silver and eight bronze medals, a total lower than the 21 medals India won at the 2022 Hangzhou edition (four gold, four silver and 13 bronze). Paris Paralympics champion Nitesh Kumar and Asian Para Games debutant Naveen Sivakumar each won men's singles golds, while Thulasimathi combined one gold and two silver medals across three events.
Nitesh opened India’s gold run by beating compatriot Pramod Bhagat 21-18, 21-16 in the men's singles SL3 final, handing Bhagat silver after his golds in 2018 and 2022. "Last time I was close, I was leading 19-16 in the third set, and then I lost. So this time, winning it and again winning in two sets against Pramod is, of course, very special, and I think it's one of the rarest of the rare things to see," said Nitesh after his singles triumph.
Nitesh then partnered Thulasimathi in the mixed doubles SL3-SU5 final but the pair were beaten by Indonesia's Leani Ratri Oktila and Hikmat Ramdani 21-11, 19-21, 14-21, denying India an additional gold in that event.
Naveen claimed the other men's singles gold, defeating Indonesia's Fredy Setiawan 21-9, 21-17 in 36 minutes on his Asian Para Games debut to secure the SL4 title.
Thulasimathi and Manasi Joshi won the women's doubles SL3-SU5 final, overcoming China's Yang Qiuxia and Xiao Zuxian 21-16, 21-13 for gold; Thulasimathi also reached the women's singles SU5 final but lost to Yang 18-21, 11-21, and her runner-up finish in mixed doubles as well as the doubles gold left her with three medals for the day. "We were communicating more and more. And we were able to coordinate during training also. We used to think, we need to stay on the court, it will be tiring," said Thulasimathi. "In the matches, it will be tiring. Three events in a day, so we'll just focus on to stay on the court and play, play, train, train, that's it," she added "We had to be aggressive, not giving easy point. China is a very tough team. I think we won with them one time. And the next two times, we lost with them in World Championships and Asian Championships."
India's Nithya Sre Sumathy Sivan added a silver in the women's singles SH6 event, losing 12-21, 13-21 to China's Li Fengmei in the final. Naveen's gold followed a series of international results, including winning the Uganda Para Badminton International in 2022, finishing second at the 2026 BWF Para Badminton World Championships in Bahrain, and taking silver at the French Para Badminton International in June 2026.
Naveen described his approach and ambitions after the victory: "It was my first Asian Games, but I had met all my opponents in previous tournaments. So I prepared myself like, it was a normal tournament, I should not be in pressure," Naveen said. "My goal is to win every major tournament title. This is my first achievement ... I want to achieve success in the World Championship and Olympics as well."