India’s Thulasimathi Murugesan and Manasi Joshi Win Gold in Women’s Doubles at Asian Para Games

October 23, 2026

Nagoya, Japan: India’s Thulasimathi Murugesan and Manasi Joshi won gold in the women’s doubles SL3-SU5 badminton event at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Para Games on Friday.

The Indian pair defeated China’s reigning world champions Qiuxia Yang and Zuxian Xiao in straight games, winning 21-16 and 21-13 in the final. The victory also helped them avenge their defeat to the Chinese duo in the 2025 Asian Championships final.

Thulasimathi and Manasi have improved on their silver medal from the previous edition by winning gold this time.

Thulasimathi added two more medals to India’s tally on Friday. She and Nitesh Kumar won silver in the mixed doubles SL3-SU5 event after losing to Indonesia’s Leani Ratri Oktila and Hikmat Ramdani 21-11, 19-21, 14-21 in the final.

She also claimed silver in the women’s singles SU5 event. Thulasimathi lost to China’s Yang in the final.

India enjoyed more success in the men’s singles events. Naveen Sivakumar won gold in the SL3 category, while Nitesh Kumar claimed the top prize in SL4.

Nitesh defeated fellow Indian and two-time Asian Para Games gold medallist Pramod Bhagat 21-18, 21-16 in an all-Indian final between two Paralympic champions.

Nithya Sre Sumathy Sivan also secured silver in the women’s singles SH6 event. She lost 12-21, 13-21 to China’s Li Fengmei in the final.

In para badminton, SL3 is meant for players with significant lower-limb impairments who compete on a half court. SL4 is for players with lower-limb impairments who have better walking and running balance. SU5 is for athletes with upper-limb impairments, while SH6 is for players with short stature.

India entered the 2026 Games after a record performance at the Hangzhou 2023 Asian Para Games, where the country won 111 medals, including 29 gold, 31 silver and 51 bronze, to finish fifth in the overall standings.

India are currently fourth in the 2026 medal table with 106 medals. The tally includes 28 gold, 34 silver and 44 bronze medals.