Manasi-Thulasimathi assure India of Asian Para Games medal

Manasi Joshi and Thulasimathi Murugesan defeated China's Yuemei Liu and Tongtong Li to reach the semifinals, assuring India of a para badminton medal for the second consecutive edition.Asian Para Games: Manasi Joshi-Thulasimathi Murugesan assure India of para badminton medal (Instagram: Manasi Joshi)New Delhi,Oct 17, 2026 17:38 ISTManasi Joshi and Thulasimathi Murugesan assured India of a medal at the Asian Para Games for the second consecutive edition after defeating China's Yuemei Liu and Tongtong Li to reach the women's doubles SL3-SU5 semifinals on Saturday.The Indian pair, silver medallists at the 2023 Hangzhou Games, registered a 21-10, 21-17 victory to secure a top-two finish in Group A with a match to spare. With both losing semifinalists guaranteed bronze medals, the win confirmed India's place on the podium.Joshi and Thulasimathi had beaten Indonesia's Rahayu Warining and Qonitah Ikhtiar Syakuroh on Friday. They will face China's Yang Qiuxia and Xiao Zuxian in their final group match on Monday.Joshi had earlier made history as the first Indian athlete to feature on the cover of Time magazine. The SL3-SU5 doubles event features players with lower- or upper-limb impairments, competing in a combined classification. KRISHNA NAGAR REACHES QUARTERFINALSTokyo Paralympics champion Krishna Nagar booked his place in the men's singles SH6 quarterfinals after beating Indonesia's Subhan 21-13, 21-15. The victory gave Nagar his second successive win and secured a top-two finish in Group C with one match remaining. The SH6 category is for players of short stature.India also enjoyed a strong outing in men's singles SL3, with Paris Paralympics champion Nitesh Kumar defeating Thailand's Natthapol Chamnanwet 21-6, 21-7. Tokyo Paralympics gold medallist Pramod Bhagat beat China's Xiong Lichuan 21-17, 21-16, while Umesh Vikram Kumar overcame the Philippines' Khian Kyle Urbano 21-10, 21-12. In men's singles SL4, Naveen Sivakumar defeated Indonesia's Hikmat Ramdani 21-12, 21-10, and Surya Kant Yadav beat Japan's Koki Ogawa 21-6, 21-19. Both categories feature standing players with lower-limb impairments, with SL4 covering less severe impairments than SL3.Sukant Kadam came through a three-game contest against South Korea's Shin Kyung Hwan, winning 21-17, 18-21, 21-9. Abhijeet Sakhuja also recovered from losing the opening game to beat Thailand's Siripong Teamarrom 19-21, 21-16, 21-10.In men's singles SU5, which is for standing players with upper-limb impairments, Ruthick Ragupathi defeated Japan's Wataru Kanai 21-12, 21-13. Hardik Makkar also progressed with a 21-16, 16-21, 21-18 win over Malaysia's Amyrul Yazid bin Ahmad Sibi.WHEELCHAIR PLAYERS ADD TO INDIA'S WINSPrem Kumar Ale fought back after losing the opening game to beat the UAE's Omair Younas 20-22, 21-9, 21-10 in men's singles WH1, a category for wheelchair players with greater impairment affecting the trunk and lower limbs.Haris Mythili defeated Indonesia's Wiwin Andri 21-13, 21-17 in WH2, which features wheelchair players with less severe impairments. Abu Hubaida, however, lost 13-21, 11-21 to Japan's Reo Oyama.In men's singles SH6, Sivarajan Solaimalai beat Hong Kong's Wong Chun Yim 21-13, 21-14. Sudarsan Muthusamy suffered a 8-21, 6-21 defeat against Hong Kong's Chu Man Kai.MIXED RESULTS IN WOMEN'S EVENTSNithya Sre Sumathy Sivan defeated China's Lin Shuangbao 21-18, 21-13 in women's singles SH6. Thulasimathi recorded a commanding 21-2, 21-2 win over Brunei's Zainab Mohamed in SU5, while Manisha Ramadass beat compatriot Shanthiya Vishwanathan 21-8, 21-15 in the same category.India also suffered several defeats in women's singles SL3. Joshi lost 3-21, 3-21 to Japan's Shino Kawai, Sanjana Kumari went down 13-21, 6-21 to Indonesia's Qonitah Ikhtiar Syakuroh, and Neeraj was beaten 5-21, 10-21 by China's Xiao Zuxian.Mandeep Kaur lost 5-21, 13-21 to Malaysia's Siti Maisarah B. Mat Lawani. In women's singles SL4, Kanak Singh Jadaun suffered a 4-21, 3-21 defeat against China's Huang Zixuan, while Pallavi Kaluvehalli lost 13-21, 14-21 to China's Yang Fan in wheelchair singles WH1.DOUBLES PAIRS HAVE MIXED FORTUNESSurya Kant and Naveen Sivakumar registered a 21-7, 21-19 win over China's Mingpan Li and Lichuan Xiong in men's doubles SL3-SU5.Sukant Kadam and Bhagat lost 21-18, 19-21, 11-21 to South Korea's Shin Kyung Hwan and Cho Nadan. Umesh Vikram Kumar and Rakesh Pandey were beaten 14-21, 10-21 by Indonesia's Fredy Setiawan and Hikmat Ramdani.In women's doubles SL3-SU5, Mandeep Kaur and Shanthiya Vishwanathan went down 11-21, 12-21 to China's Hefang Cheng and Zixuan Huang.India's mixed doubles WH1-WH2 pair of Alphia James and Prem Kumar Ale defeated Chinese Taipei's I-Chen Yang and Yu-Yu Ong 21-9, 21-17.There were defeats in mixed doubles SL3-SU5, where Manisha Ramadass and Pramod Bhagat lost 19-21, 16-21 to Indonesia's Leani Ratri Oktila and Hikmat Ramdani. Ruthick Ragupathi and Joshi were beaten 10-21, 17-21 by China's Mingpan Li and Zuxian Xiao.Nagar and Nithya Sre Sumathy Sivan also lost their mixed doubles SH6 match, going down 6-21, 10-21 to China's Naili Lin and Fengmei Li.- Ends