Himanshu Nandal
Indian swimmer Himanshu Nandal won his second bronze medal at the Asian Para Games after finishing third in the men's 100m breaststroke S11 event in Nagoya on Wednesday.The 22-year-old from Rohtak, Haryana, clocked 1:20.72 seconds.
Nandal has been completely visually impaired since birth due to optic nerve failure. China's Yang Bozun won gold in a Games-record time of 1:12.69, while Japan's Keiichi Kimura took silver in 1:12.72.Nandal had won his first medal on Tuesday, finishing third in the men's 400m freestyle S11 event with a timing of 5:10.91 in a four-swimmer field.Coming from a family with a sporting background, Nandal drew inspiration from his father, who played hockey at the national level.
He moved to Delhi at the age of four and joined the National Association for the Blind, where he learnt Braille.Nandal graduated in political science from Delhi University's Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma College. He initially took up judo and won medals at the national level before switching to swimming in 2021.In 2024, he became the first Indian blind swimmer to achieve the Minimum Qualification Standard for the Paris Paralympics.
The S11 classification in para swimming is for athletes with severe visual impairment, including those with very low visual acuity or no light perception.
Ravi Budigina wins second silver
Ravi Budigina claimed his second silver medal at the Asian Para Games, finishing second in the men's 100m backstroke S13 final with a time of 1:10.10.
Uzbekistan's Egor Bolotov won gold in an Asian-record time of 58.43 seconds, finishing 11.67 seconds ahead of Budigina.Budigina had earlier won silver in the men's 100m freestyle S13 event on Monday.The S13 classification is for athletes with visual impairment who have the least vision loss among athletes eligible to compete in a Paralympic sport.
Rohit Kumar wins Bronze in Men's 100m Breaststroke SB4 Final
Rohit Kumar clinched a bronze medal in the men's 100m breaststroke SB4 final, clocking 1:57.25. The Indian was fourth at the 50m mark, narrowly trailing Saudi Arabia's Hussain Al-Rashid, but produced a strong finish to secure bronze by a margin of 1.17 seconds.Rohit was never in contention for the gold, which went to Malaysia's Muhammad Bin Zulkafli in a Games-record time of 1:41.44.