Asian Para Games 2026: Suhas Yathiraj, Bhavina Patel Lead India’s Strong Start Across Badminton and Table Tennis

India’s campaign at the Asian Para Games 2026 began with several encouraging performances in badminton and para table tennis on Friday, with Paralympic medallists Suhas Yathiraj and Bhavina Patel among the prominent athletes registering opening victories.

Two-time Paralympics silver-medallist Suhas began his men’s singles SL4 campaign with a commanding win over Bangladesh’s Joytu Dhar, while Tokyo Paralympics silver-medallist Bhavina made a similarly impressive start in women’s para table tennis. India also recorded wins through Krishna Nagar, Abhijeet Sakhuja, Sivarajan Solaimalai, Manisha Ramdass, Pramod Bhagat and several para table tennis players.

The opening day, however, brought a mixture of results, with Indian athletes experiencing both victories and difficult defeats across the different classifications.

Suhas, who won silver medals at the Tokyo and Paris Paralympics and claimed gold at the previous Asian Para Games, began his campaign with a comfortable 21-8, 21-11 victory over Bangladesh’s Joytu Dhar in the men’s singles SL4 Group E match.

The Indian, who also serves as an IAS officer, controlled the contest to secure a straight-game win and establish an early foothold in his group. Abhijeet Sakhuja also began positively in the men’s singles SL4 category, defeating Chinese Taipei’s En-chuan Yeh 21-17, 21-12.

India’s challenge in the standing badminton categories received another boost through Krishna Nagar. The Tokyo Paralympics gold-medallist and Asian Para Games silver-medallist defeated Chinese Taipei’s Jia-siang Ling 21-5, 21-4 in his opening men’s singles SH6 Group C match.

Sivarajan Solaimalai joined him in the winners’ column, overcoming the Philippines’ John Cyrus Maclang 21-7, 21-6 in the men’s singles SH6 Group D encounter. However, the Indian combination of Nagar and Solaimalai subsequently lost 10-21, 12-21 to Hong Kong’s Chun yim Yong and Man Kai Chu in the men’s doubles SH6 event.

Nagar recovered from that setback in mixed doubles, partnering Nithya Sre Sumathy Sivan to a comprehensive 21-7, 21-7 victory over Malaysia’s Nurzammiezatul B Mohamad and Muhammad Amin Bin Azmi.

Mixed Results for Indian Badminton Players

India also enjoyed success in mixed doubles SL3-SU5, where Manisha Ramdass and Pramod Bhagat defeated China’s Lichuan Xiong and Tongtong Li 21-16, 19-21, 21-16 in a competitive three-game encounter.

The Indian pair recovered after losing the second game to secure the deciding game and open their campaign with a victory. In women’s doubles SL3-SU5, Mansi and Thulasimathi Murugesan defeated Indonesia’s Warining Rahayu and Qonitah Ikhtiar Syakuroh 21-10, 21-12, recovering from a game down to win the contest.

There were setbacks elsewhere. Manasi Joshi and Ruthick Raghupati lost 15-21, 4-21 to Indonesia’s Khalimatus Sadiyah and Fredy Setiawan in their opening mixed doubles match.

Manasi, a former world champion, also suffered a defeat in women’s singles SL3, losing 15-21, 21-14, 15-21 to China’s Yuemei Liu in Group A. Sanjana Kumari provided a positive response in the same classification, beating Hong Kong’s Chai Saeyang 21-4, 21-6.

India’s wheelchair badminton players faced a challenging day. Abu Hubaida lost 11-21, 9-21 to China’s Jianpeng Mai in men’s singles WH2, while Prem Kumar Ale recovered from losing the first game to defeat Indonesia’s Agung Widodo 18-21, 21-15, 21-16.

Ale and Alphia James subsequently lost 15-21, 9-21 to China’s Mai and Menglu Yin in mixed doubles WH1-WH2. James also went down 8-21, 5-21 to China’s Yutong Lu in women’s singles WH2, while the Hubaida-Ale combination lost 4-21, 2-21 to Saudi Arabia’s Mahdi Almakinah and Essam Buayti in men’s doubles.

India’s para table tennis campaign also began on a positive note, with Bhavina Patel delivering a dominant performance in the women’s singles Class 4-5 Group A competition. The Tokyo Paralympics silver-medallist defeated Kuwait’s Ahad Alrasheedi 11-6, 11-3, 11-6 to register a straight-game victory.

Bhavina’s experience on the international stage will be an important asset as the competition progresses, with the Indian looking to build momentum after her opening result.

Baby Sahana Ravi also secured a convincing victory, defeating Vietnam’s Thi Hoa Phuong Nguyen 11-6, 11-5, 11-4 in women’s singles Class 9 Group B. In the men’s competition, Shubham Wadhwa defeated Nepal’s Keshav Thapa 11-6, 11-4, and 11-9 in Class 3, while Jehan Madan overcame compatriot Sandeep Dangi 11-8, 12-10, 10-12, and 11-6 in Class 1.

Madan’s victory was particularly competitive, with Dangi managing to take the third game before Madan closed out the match in four.

The opening day offered encouraging signs for India, particularly through the performances of established Paralympic medallists and athletes who secured comfortable victories in their respective groups. Suhas and Krishna delivered strong starts in badminton, while Bhavina, Sahana, Wadhwa and Madan helped India begin its para table tennis campaign positively.

At the same time, the defeats across several badminton categories highlighted the depth of international competition and the need for consistency as the tournament progresses. With group-stage matches continuing, India will look to build on its early victories, recover from the opening-day setbacks and strengthen its position for the knockout stages.

The performances of experienced campaigners such as Suhas and Bhavina provide a promising foundation, but the coming matches will determine how effectively India can translate its encouraging start into a sustained challenge for medals at the Asian Para Games.