Shailesh Kumar Leads India's High Jump T63 Podium Sweep at Asian Para Games

India won every medal in the men's high jump T63 final at the Asian Para Games in Aichi-Nagoya on Thursday. Shailesh Kumar took gold with a clearance of 1.89m, which reports described as a Games record. Varun Singh Bhati won silver with 1.84m, and Rahul won bronze with a personal-best 1.81m.

This is India's third podium sweep of these Games. The country had already taken every medal in the men's discus throw F44/64, led by Devender Kumar, and the men's shot put F46, led by Sachin Khilari. It also repeats India's sweep of the combined high jump T42/T63 event at the 2022 edition.

Five centimetres clear

Shailesh finished five centimetres ahead of the next jumper. In a field event where medals are often decided by a single bar height, that is a comfortable margin, and it came against a field that included two of his own experienced team-mates.

The T63 class covers athletes with a single above-knee limb deficiency who compete with a prosthesis. Indian high jumpers have been among the strongest in the world in this class for most of the past decade.

Varun Bhati's long run continues

The silver adds to one of the longest international careers in Indian para athletics. Varun, from Greater Noida, first made his name at the Rio 2016 Paralympics, where he won bronze in the T42 high jump with 1.86m. He went on to win bronze at the 2017 World Para Athletics Championships and silver at the 2018 Asian Para Games in Jakarta. Last year he won another world championship bronze, in the T63 event in New Delhi, with 1.85m.

His 1.84m on Thursday was just short of that mark, but it was enough for second place and another major-championship medal.

Rahul had the biggest jump in his own terms. His personal best came in a major final, and it completed the sweep.

A strong day on the track too

The high jump sweep was the highlight of a busy day for India's athletes. Earlier in the session, Anjanaben Bumbadiya won the women's 400m T47 in 59.97 seconds, and Jayanti Behera finished second in 1:00.65 to give India a one-two. Dilip Gavit won the men's 400m T47, his second gold of the Games after the 100m. Dharmaraj Solairaj defended his men's long jump title with 7.15m.

Those results came on the same day Sheetal Devi won two archery golds in two hours. Together, the results made Thursday one of India's strongest days of the Games.

More medals are possible in para badminton, where Nitesh Kumar and Naveen Sivakumar have reached their finals.

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