Asian Para Games: Kapil Parmar wins bronze after emphatic 69-seconds ippon victory

Nagoya, Oct 19 (IANS) India’s Kapil Parmar added another international medal to his collection with a bronze-medal finish in the men’s J1-70kg para-judo event at the 2026 Asian Para Games on Monday, defeating Indonesia’s Rafli Ahnaf Shidqi by ippon in just one minute and nine seconds at the Aichi Prefectural Martial Arts Hall.

The victory marked India’s third medal on the opening day of the competition and offered a strong response from Parmar after his semifinal defeat earlier in the day. The Paris Paralympics bronze medallist, who entered the tournament as a world-ranked eighth judoka, overcame Indonesia’s Shidqi, ranked 17th, to secure his place on the podium.

Parmar’s route to the bronze-medal contest began with a hard-fought quarterfinal against Mongolia’s Baatarsuren Bat-Erdene. The Indian prevailed by ippon after four minutes and 53 seconds of action during the golden score, advancing to the semifinals with a determined performance.

However, his pursuit of the gold-medal bout came to an end when Indonesia’s Junaedi defeated him by ippon in the last four. Parmar regrouped for the bronze-medal contest and delivered a decisive performance, finishing the bout against Shidqi in just 69 seconds.

The latest achievement adds to an impressive career for the judoka from Sehore, Madhya Pradesh, who has competed in para-judo since 2017. Classified J1, a category for athletes with visual impairments, Parmar has established himself as one of India’s leading competitors in the discipline under the guidance of coach Munawar Anzar Ali Siddiqui.

His international résumé includes bronze at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, silver at the previous Asian Para Games in Hangzhou and gold at the 2019 Commonwealth Judo Championships. He has also collected multiple IBSA Grand Prix titles and seven national gold medals.

Parmar’s contributions to Indian sport were recognised with the Arjuna Award for 2024–25. He is also a Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) athlete, reflecting his importance to India’s para-judo programme.

His bronze in Aichi-Nagoya provides another significant milestone in his career and strengthens India’s medal haul as the country’s para-athletes continue their campaigns across disciplines at the continental competition.

–IANS

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