Solairaj Dharmaraj retained his Asian Para Games men’s long jump title in Nagoya with an Asian-record 7.15 metres on his second attempt. The 32-year-old Indian Army subedar improved his own continental mark of 7.08m and finished well clear of Malaysia’s Eddy Bernard and Japan’s Yuma Tamaki on points.
Nagoya, Japan: Solairaj Dharmaraj needed only one big jump. On his second attempt in the men’s T44/T62/T64 long jump final at Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium, he landed at 7.15 metres, set a new Asian record and put the gold beyond reach of the field.
The record arrives early
Dharmaraj, who competes in T64, opened with 6.88 metres and then produced the winner. The sequence that followed was 6.82, 6.85 and two fouls, but the 7.15 stood as the best mark of the final. It improved the Asian record of 7.08m he set at the 2025 World Para Athletics Championships in New Delhi, and earlier in 2026 he had won the combined T44/T64 long jump at the World Para Athletics Grand Prix in New Delhi with 7.05m.
Points decide the medals
The final combined several classes, so medals were awarded on Raza points rather than raw distance. Dharmaraj scored 807, comfortably ahead of Malaysia’s Eddy Bernard, who took silver with 740 points from a best jump of 6.34m in T44. Japan’s Yuma Tamaki took bronze with 726 points, his personal-best 6.89m in T64 earning him third place.
Back-to-back champion
The Tamil Nadu athlete, a 32-year-old subedar in the Indian Army, also won this title at the previous Asian Para Games in Hangzhou with a jump of 6.80 metres. At the 2025 World Championships in New Delhi he set the 7.08m mark but finished seventh, and in Nagoya the Asian-record jump gave him a second successive Asian Para Games gold. It joined a growing athletics haul for India at the Games, among them fellow T64 athlete Praveen Kumar’s Games-record high jump.
Result summary: Men’s long jump T44/T62/T64 final, Asian Para Games, Nagoya, Thursday 22 October 2026. Gold: Solairaj Dharmaraj (India) 7.15m, Asian record, 807 points. Silver: Eddy Bernard (Malaysia) 740 points, best jump 6.34m. Bronze: Yuma Tamaki (Japan) 726 points, 6.89m.
