India has announced a 168-member athlete contingent for the fifth Asian Para Games, set to be held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, from October 18 to October 24, 2026. The squad, cleared by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, comprises 112 men and 56 women competing across 11 disciplines, with the full national contingent numbering 281 — 168 athletes, 98 team officials and support staff, and 15 contingent staff members.
Forty-five nations are expected to compete across 19 disciplines at the Games, and India will field one of its largest-ever squads at a continental para event. Para athletics forms the largest single block with 62 athletes, followed by para badminton with 28, para swimming with 16, para shooting with 13, para archery with 11, blind football with 10, para table tennis with 10, para powerlifting with 8, para judo with 7, boccia with 2 and para cycling with 1.
The squad is headlined by two of India’s most decorated para athletes, both of them double Paralympic champions. Javelin thrower Sumit Antil will defend his Asian Para Games title in the men’s F64 category, arriving as the undisputed global standard in his event. Shooter Avani Lekhara will defend her title in the women’s 10m air rifle standing SH1 and has also been entered in the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions SH1, giving India a medal prospect in two events.
The honour of carrying the national flag at the Opening Ceremony goes to para badminton star Pramod Bhagat and para table tennis champion Bhavina Patel — two athletes whose own podium finishes have been central to India’s para-sport rise over the past decade.
Expectations from the contingent are high, and for good reason. India’s para athletes won 108 medals, including 27 gold, at the previous edition in Hangzhou, according to IndiaSportsHub, a tally that established the country as a rising force in Asian para sport. The Aichi-Nagoya squad has been assembled with the explicit target of bettering that benchmark across athletics, shooting, badminton and the emerging disciplines.
The selection reflects the depth India has built in para sport since Hangzhou, with larger entries in powerlifting, blind football and boccia suggesting a widening talent pipeline rather than reliance on a handful of headline names. With just days to go before the Games begin, the focus now shifts to the stadiums and ranges of Aichi-Nagoya — and to whether the Antil-Lekhara generation can power India to its best-ever Asian Para Games finish.
