Deepthi Jeevanji won the women’s 400m T20 at the Asian Para Games in a Games-record 56.36 seconds, finishing more than two seconds clear of Japan’s Niina Kanno. The Paris 2024 bronze medallist’s win was India’s fifth gold of the Games.
Nagoya, Japan: The heat had been a warm-up. In the final on Tuesday, Deepthi Jeevanji crossed the line in 56.36 seconds, more than two seconds clear of the field, and took a Games record with her.
A comfortable, record-setting run
Jeevanji had won her heat on Monday in 57.57 seconds. In the final, Japan’s Niina Kanno was second in 58.92 seconds and her compatriot Akane Kato took bronze in 1:00.26.
The win was the first gold of the day for India and its fifth of the Games.
A champion’s pedigree
The 23-year-old from Telangana arrived in Nagoya as a Paralympic medallist. She won bronze in this event at the Paris 2024 Paralympics, the first Indian athlete with an intellectual impairment to win a Paralympic medal. Earlier in 2024 she took the world title in Kobe, in world-record time according to All India Radio.
The T20 classification covers athletes with intellectual impairments.
Result: Women’s 400m T20 final, Asian Para Games, Aichi-Nagoya, Tuesday, 20 October 2026
Podium: 1. Deepthi Jeevanji (India) 56.36 (Games record); 2. Niina Kanno (Japan) 58.92; 3. Akane Kato (Japan) 1:00.26
