CM Samrat Choudhary Hails India's Gold Wins at Asian Para Games 2026
Synopsis
Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary congratulated para shooter Mona Agarwal and para badminton pair Mansi Joshi and Thulasimathi Murugesan for winning gold medals at the Asian Para Games 2026, calling their victories a story of dreams, struggle, and unbreakable courage.
Key Takeaways
Mona Agarwal won gold in the women's 50-metre rifle para shooting event at the Asian Para Games 2026 .
Mansi Joshi and Thulasimathi Murugesan won gold in women's doubles para badminton at the same Games.
Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary publicly congratulated all three athletes on October 23, 2026 .
India won 111 medals at the previous edition of the Asian Para Games in Hangzhou in 2022 .
Para sports have been integrated into flagship government programmes such as Khelo India , expanding access to training and competition pathways.
Three athletes. Two golds. One roaring statement about what India's para-sports movement has become. Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary took to X on Friday, October 23, 2026, to congratulate Mona Agarwal on her gold medal in the women's 50-metre rifle para shooting event and the pair of Mansi Joshi and Thulasimathi Murugesan on their gold in women's doubles para badminton at the Asian Para Games 2026.
Posting in Hindi, CM Choudhary wrote that their victories are 'not limited to medals alone, but are the story of dreams, struggles, and unbreakable courage that scribes history by rising above every difficulty.' The sentiment cut through the noise of routine congratulations — a pointed acknowledgement that para-athletic achievement carries a weight beyond the podium.
Mona Agarwal's rifle gold — precision under pressure
Mona Agarwal has been one of India's most consistent para shooters on the international circuit, competing in women's rifle events across major multi-sport meets. A gold at the Asian Para Games in the 50-metre rifle discipline places her among the continent's finest, and adds another chapter to a career built on painstaking, millimetre-perfect accuracy.
Joshi and Thulasimathi's doubles gold on the badminton court
Mansi Joshi has long been a face of Indian para badminton — a player whose story of resilience following a road accident drew global attention well before her medals did. Partnering with Thulasimathi Murugesan, herself a multiple-medal winner in para badminton, the duo's gold in women's doubles underlines the depth India has built in the discipline at the continental level.
India's para-sports momentum at the 2026 Games
India has been steadily building its para-sports infrastructure over successive Games cycles. At the 2022 Asian Para Games in Hangzhou, India returned with a haul of 111 medals — a landmark that signalled the country's rising competitive seriousness. Dedicated training centres and inclusion in flagship programmes such as Khelo India have brought para athletes closer to mainstream sports pathways, resources, and national visibility.
Political acknowledgement from senior leaders, including state chief ministers, has become a consistent feature of this ecosystem — amplifying victories, lending institutional weight to achievements that once went largely unnoticed beyond specialist circles.
With the Asian Para Games 2026 still in progress, India's full medal tally is yet to be tallied — but Friday's two golds signal that the country's para contingent arrived to compete, not merely participate.
Point of View
These congratulations carry a dual function: honouring genuine athletic excellence while reinforcing a policy narrative of disability-inclusive governance. The consistency of such messaging across party lines also reflects a wider consensus that para sports are no longer a niche — they are now political capital. As India's medal tallies at para multi-sport events grow, the competition among leaders to be first to amplify them is only going to sharpen.
NationPress
23 Oct 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Mona Agarwal and what did she win at the Asian Para Games 2026?
Mona Agarwal is an Indian para shooter who won the gold medal in the women's 50-metre rifle event at the Asian Para Games 2026.
Who are Mansi Joshi and Thulasimathi Murugesan?
Mansi Joshi and Thulasimathi Murugesan are Indian para badminton players who won gold together in the women's doubles event at the Asian Para Games 2026.
What did Bihar CM Samrat Choudhary say about India's para athletes?
CM Choudhary said their victories are 'not limited to medals alone, but are the story of dreams, struggles, and unbreakable courage that scribes history by rising above every difficulty.'
How many medals did India win at the 2022 Asian Para Games?
India won 111 medals at the 2022 Asian Para Games held in Hangzhou, China.
What is the Asian Para Games?
The Asian Para Games is a quadrennial multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities from across Asia, held in conjunction with the Asian Games cycle.
