Two Indian para-athletes lit up the track at the Asian Para Games 2026, and Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma was swift to salute them — Simran claiming gold in the Women's 200m T12 event with a new Games record, and Tejalbeen Damor adding bronze on her very first appearance at the continental games.

Posting on X on October 20, 2026, CM Sharma wrote: 'एशियन पैरा गेम्स 2026 में महिला 200 मीटर T12 स्पर्धा में स्वर्ण पदक जीतने पर सिमरन जी एवं कांस्य पदक जीतने पर तेजलबेन डामोर जी को हार्दिक बधाई एवं शुभकामनाएं!' — 'Heartiest congratulations and best wishes to Simran on winning gold and to Tejalbeen Damor on winning bronze in the Women's 200m T12 event at the Asian Para Games 2026!'

Simran's record-breaking gold and Tejalbeen's debut bronze

CM Sharma noted that Simran demonstrated 'extraordinary talent' by setting a new Games record alongside her gold medal — an achievement that places her among the standout performers of the edition. Tejalbeen Damor, competing at the Asian Para Games for the first time, converted her debut appearance into a podium finish, signalling a depth of talent in Indian para-athletics that extends well beyond established names.

The T12 classification is for athletes with significant visual impairment who retain some light perception. Competing and excelling in this category demands not only physical conditioning but a level of technical precision and trust between athlete and guide that makes every medal hard-earned.

India's expanding footprint at the Asian Para Games

India's engagement with the Asian Para Games has grown steadily across successive editions. The country fielded competitive squads at the 2018 Jakarta and 2022 Hangzhou editions, with medal tallies rising each time as infrastructure, coaching, and athlete-identification programmes have matured at the national level. A gold-with-Games-record performance in a track event is precisely the kind of result that signals a programme moving from participation to genuine contention.

State leaders across India have increasingly used public platforms to amplify para-sport achievements — a shift that reflects both growing public interest in adaptive athletics and a deliberate policy push to bring para-athletes into the same celebratory spotlight as their Olympic counterparts.

What Simran and Tejalbeen's medals mean for Indian para-athletics

CM Sharma called the two athletes' success 'a symbol of the growing strength and new possibilities of Indian para-sports.' That framing matters: a Games record in the 200m and a debut podium finish in the same event, in the same edition, point to a pipeline — not a one-off. Both athletes now enter the spotlight ahead of future international cycles, including the 2028 Paralympic Games in Los Angeles, where T12 track events will again be fiercely contested.

India's para-sport story is no longer about courageous participation. It is about setting records. That is the shift Simran and Tejalbeen just made visible.