Gadkari hails India's record 114 medals at Asian Para Games
Synopsis
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari hailed India's para-athletes for winning a record 114 medals at the 2026 Asian Para Games, crediting PM Modi's sports vision and schemes like Khelo India for the historic achievement on the continental stage.
Key Takeaways
India's para-athletes won a record 114 medals (gold, silver, and bronze) at the 2026 Asian Para Games .
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari called the achievement 'a proud moment for India' on 24 October 2026 .
The Khelo India scheme, launched in 2017 , has been a key structural driver of India's growing para-sport pipeline.
India's para contingents and medal tallies at the Asian Para Games have grown steadily since 2014 .
The next major milestone for Indian para-athletes is the 2028 Paralympics in Los Angeles .
A record medal haul. A tricolour hoisted higher than ever before. Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Saturday, 24 October 2026, celebrated India's para-athletes scripting history at the Asian Para Games, declaring it 'a proud moment for India' after the contingent returned with a landmark 114 medals across gold, silver, and bronze.
114 medals and the making of a milestone
The number alone commands attention. India's para-athletes delivered a combined tally of 114 medals — golds, silvers, and bronzes — at the 2026 Asian Para Games, a haul Gadkari described as 'scripting history' and evidence of 'extraordinary power of courage, perseverance and sporting talent.' The minister extended his 'heartiest congratulations to every athlete who made the Tricolour soar high.'
The feat is not accidental. Over successive editions of the Asian Para Games, India has sent progressively larger contingents and climbed the medal table — a trajectory backed by deliberate policy investment since 2014.
Khelo India's quiet engine behind para-sport's rise
The structural scaffolding for this moment was laid years earlier. The Khelo India scheme, launched in 2017, was designed to push grassroots sports development far beyond metro academies — funding training infrastructure, identifying talent at school level, and increasingly integrating para-athletes into the national pipeline. The results are now visible on a continental podium.
The Indian government's expanded commitment to para sports — through dedicated funding and inclusion in national schemes — has steadily converted raw talent into medal-ready athletes. What was once a thin bench has become a deep squad.
Modi government's sports vision on the global stage
Gadkari explicitly framed the achievement within the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government's sporting vision, noting that India's commitment to nurturing talent is 'opening new horizons for our athletes to excel on the global stage.' The language points toward what comes next: the 2028 Paralympics in Los Angeles, where India's para community will measure this momentum against the world's best.
For now, 114 medals at a continental Para Games is the loudest answer yet to the question of whether the investment was worth it. The athletes have answered. The scoreboard has answered. India's para-sport story is no longer an asterisk — it is the headline.
Point of View
Not just participation. For the BJP, this milestone doubles as a narrative anchor: evidence that the government's 'sports superpower' ambition is delivering measurable results ahead of the 2028 Paralympics. The framing by a non-sports minister like Gadkari also signals how broadly the party wants to own this win across its leadership. The real test, however, will come in Los Angeles — where a continental record must hold up against the world.
NationPress
24 Oct 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
How many medals did India win at the 2026 Asian Para Games?
India won a record 114 medals — across gold, silver, and bronze — at the 2026 Asian Para Games , according to Minister Nitin Gadkari's post.
What is the Khelo India scheme and how does it support para-athletes?
Khelo India is a government scheme launched in 2017 to promote grassroots sports development across India. It funds training infrastructure and talent identification at the school level, and has increasingly included para-athletes in the national sports pipeline.
What did Nitin Gadkari say about India's Asian Para Games performance?
Gadkari called it 'a proud moment for India,' saying the para-athletes 'scripted history' and showed 'extraordinary power of courage, perseverance and sporting talent,' while crediting PM Modi's leadership for opening new horizons for Indian athletes.
What is India's next big para-sports target after the Asian Para Games?
India's para-athletes are expected to build on this momentum toward the 2028 Paralympics in Los Angeles , which will be the next major global benchmark for the country's para-sports programme.
Why is India doing better at para-sports events in recent years?
Analysts attribute the rise to increased government funding, dedicated training infrastructure, and inclusion of para-athletes in national schemes like Khelo India since 2014 , leading to larger contingents and rising medal counts at successive Asian Para Games.
