Asian Para Games 2026: Kokila wins silver, Kapil bags bronze in judo

India's visually-impaired judokas snared two medals at the Asian Para Games on Monday with Kokila winning a silver in women's J2 -52kg category and Kapil Parmar clinching a bronze in the men's J1 -70kg division in Nagoya on Monday.

Hangzhou Asian Para Games bronze-medallist Kokila lost to Kyrgyzstan's Aibike Ulanbek Kyzy in the final. Kyzy secured an Ippon (the highest scoring move in judo that wins the match instantly) in just 21 seconds to claim the gold medal at the Aichi Prefectural Martial Arts Hall.

Kapil, who won a silver in the previous edition of the Games, fought for bronze this time after going down in the semifinal to another Indonesian Junaedi 0-1.

In the playoff against another Indonesian Ahnaf Rafli Shidqi, Kapil prevailed 1-0 after managing one Ippon. The contest lasted just over a minute.

Judo for athletes with visual impairments is contested under the J1 and J2 classifications.

J2 judokas have visual impairment but generally retain more functional vision than J1 athletes, who could be completely blind.

"I came here with the intent of winning gold but ended with a bronze. Fortune was not with me today as far as gold is concerned but I am grateful for this bronze. I have worked very hard and this is the first medal that I have in a long time," said an emotionally overwhelmed Kapil, whose mother has not been keeping well for a while.

Kapil had won a bronze in the 2024 Paralympics and was a gold-winner at the 2019 Commonwealth Championships.

Earlier in the morning session, Kokila defeated China's Yi Liu in the semifinals.

Kokila, who had won a -48kg bronze in the last edition in 2023, secured a 1-0 win in the semifinal, registering one waza-ari (second highest technical score) and one yuko (score for effective technique) against her Chinese opponent, who managed one waza-ari.

Kokila, who hails from Kasun village in Jind district of Haryana, was part of India's campaign at the 2024 Paris Paralympics.

She has also won medals at various international judo competitions, including a silver at the Judo Grand Prix in Astana this year.

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