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Indian athlete Kapil Parmar clinches para judo bronze medal
Indian judoka Kapil Parmar secured the bronze medal in the men's J1 -70kg para judo event at the 2026 Asian Para Games in Japan. He defeated Indonesia's Shidqi Rafli Ahnaf by Ippon in 69 seconds on Monday to claim India's third medal of the tournament and its first in para judo.
Parmar previously made history at the Paris 2024 Paralympics by becoming the first Indian to win a judo medal at the event. Reflecting on his recent victory, Parmar mentioned he had initially prepared to compete for gold. "I am feeling good," Parmar told the media. "It's been a long time since I won a medal. I have worked very hard. My coach worked very hard on me. By chance, I came prepared for the gold medal, but today was not my day or my luck, so I won the bronze medal." He expressed gratitude to Indian citizens, the Sports Authority of India, and the Target Olympic Podium Scheme for their ongoing support. His coach, Munawar Anzar, noted that this medal holds deep personal meaning for the athlete. Parmar recently faced serious mental strain due to his mother's illness. Anzar encouraged him to dedicate this specific medal to his mother. "It was very important for him to win the bronze medal," Anzar stated. "Because of this, he went down a lot. Mentally as well. But I told him that he has to dedicate this medal to his mother. So he did it today. This is the biggest thing that we got the medal." Anzar added that this result will serve as a strong foundation for future Paralympic preparations.
Parmar trains at the Indian Para Judo Academy in Lucknow. He lost his eyesight earlier in life after being electrocuted in a waterlogged field. He has overcome this adversity to win gold medals at International Blind Sports Federation events in Alexandria, Antalya, and Tbilisi over the past two years. Earlier in this competition, Parmar advanced by defeating Mongolia's Baatarsuren Bat-Erdene during Golden Score in the quarterfinals.
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