Shailesh Kumar cleared 1.89 metres, a Games record, to win the men’s T63 high jump at the Asian Para Games in Nagoya. Varun Bhati took silver at 1.84m and Rahul bronze with a personal-best 1.81m as India swept the podium for the third time at these Games.
Nagoya, Japan: India’s high jumpers owned the T63 final on Thursday. Shailesh Kumar, the world champion in this class, cleared 1.89 metres to take gold, and two compatriots finished behind him to give India all three medals.
A Games record for the world champion
The winning height was a new Games record. Shailesh, 25, from Jamui in Bihar, won the T63 world title in New Delhi in 2025. T63 is the class for jumpers who compete with a prosthesis after a single above-the-knee amputation.
Bhati and Rahul complete the sweep
Varun Bhati took silver with 1.84 metres, a season-best. The 2016 Rio Paralympic bronze medallist has a long record at this level: bronze at the 2017 World Para Athletics Championships, silver at the 2018 Asian Para Games in Jakarta with 1.82m, and bronze in T63 at the 2025 World Championships in New Delhi with 1.85m. Rahul completed the podium with 1.81 metres, a personal best.
A third sweep for India
It was India’s third clean sweep of the podium at these Games, after Sachin Khilari’s Games-record shot put F46 win and Devender Kumar’s discus victory. It echoes the men’s high jump sweep India achieved at the previous Games in Hangzhou, and it adds to a strong week in the event, which has already brought Praveen Kumar’s Games-record 2.05m in the T64 class.
Result summary: Men’s high jump T63 final, Asian Para Games, Nagoya, Thursday 22 October 2026. Gold: Shailesh Kumar (India) 1.89m, Games record. Silver: Varun Bhati (India) 1.84m. Bronze: Rahul (India) 1.81m, personal best.
