Two Indian athletes, one bar, and a record that just got rewritten. Union Labour and Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Wednesday, October 21 celebrated a landmark double podium finish for India in the Men's High Jump T64 event at the Asian Para Games 2026, as Praveen Kumar defended his gold medal with a stunning New Games Record of 2.05m and Banti soared to silver with a personal best of 1.92m.

Praveen Kumar's 2.05m — a Games Record that rewrites the bar

Praveen Kumar entered the competition as defending champion and left it in a class of his own. Clearing 2.05 metres — a New Games Record — he did not just retain the title; he pushed the continental benchmark higher for every T64 athlete who comes after him. The T64 classification covers athletes with a leg impairment who compete with a prosthesis, and the technical precision required to generate that kind of height makes the achievement all the more extraordinary.

Praveen is a beneficiary of the government's Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS), which provides elite Indian athletes — including para-athletes — with personalised financial support, international competition exposure, and coaching infrastructure. His gold underlines the tangible return on that investment.

Banti's 1.92m personal best and the value of the silver

Banti's silver at 1.92m is not a consolation — it is a career-best clearance that placed him on a continental podium. A personal best in a high-stakes final is precisely the kind of performance selectors and coaches look for when mapping the road to the 2028 Los Angeles Paralympics. Having two Indian athletes in the top two in a single para-athletics event is a rare feat at the continental level and speaks to the depth India is beginning to develop in para high jump.

TOPS, para-sport funding, and India's rising medal ambitions

The Target Olympic Podium Scheme was expanded in 2018 to formally include para-athletes ahead of the Tokyo Paralympics, signalling a policy shift that treated para-sport preparation as a first-class national priority rather than an afterthought. At the 2023 Asian Para Games in Hangzhou, India sent a contingent of more than 350 athletes and finished fourth in the overall medal table — a performance that raised expectations sharply for the 2026 edition.

Wednesday's double podium in the high jump adds to what India's sports ministry will be watching closely: the final medal tally and its implications for TOPS funding allocations ahead of the 2028 Paralympic cycle. Each international medal is also a data point in the ongoing case for sustained government investment in para-sport.

Two medals, one event, one flag — and the bar has never been set higher.