Asian Para Games
Asian Para Games 2026: What is Raza Points in para athletics? Explained
How did India win gold and silver in women's 1500m T12/T13 despite not having the two fastest runners at 2026 Asian Para Games?
When India's Soumya and Radha Ventakesh took two podium places in women's 1500m T12/T13 at the ongoing 2026 Asian Para Games in Aichi-Nagoya, the finishing order did not follow the clock alone.
While Soumya was undoubtedly the fastest runner on the track, winning the gold medal in 5:12.39, Radha had clocked 5:30.90 and was slowest of the five athletes in contention.
Yet, Radha found herself standing on the podium with a silver medal on her neck.
Why?
It was because the race followed Raza points, a scoring method that decides medals whenever athletes from different sport classes run the same race.
Why is a scoring system needed?
Para athletics sorts athletes into classes according to how their impairment affects performance. T12 and T13 both cover visual impairment. T13 athletes have the least severe vision loss of the visual classes, and T12 athletes have more limited vision, with the option of running alongside a guide.
In an ideal meet, every class would have its own final and its own medals. However, continental Games rarely have enough entrants for that, so organisers merge classes into one race.
At the 2026 Asian Para Games, T12 and T13 race categories were merged.
Raw times would then reward whoever has the lesser impairment, which makes the result unfair to the athletes with greater impairment.
How Raza points work?
Raza points convert a finishing time into a number that can be compared across classes. Each class has a benchmark for the event, built from the best performances recorded in that class.
An athleteās time is measured against her own class benchmark, and the gap between the two produces her points. The athlete with the highest score wins.
The consequence is that the first runner across the line is not automatically the winner.
Suppose a T12 runner finishes a second behind a T13 rival. If the T12 runnerās time sits closer to the T12 benchmark than the T13 runnerās time sits to the T13 benchmark, the T12 runner takes the higher place. The race is run on the track, and the ranking is settled on the points sheet.
What viewers should look for
Official results for such events carry two columns, time and points. Anyone following a merged-class race should read the points column for the medal order.
At the 2026 Asian Para Games, Soumya had accumulated 621 points for her run, while Radha's timings gave her a total of 421 points ā the second highest among the five races.
Hence, India walked away with a double podium with Radha taking the silver medal behind Soumya.