Four More Medals, 10 in Total: Ravi Budigina Leads India’s Swimming Surge at Asian Para Games

Xtratime Webdesk: India’s swimming campaign at the Asian Para Games continues to gather momentum as four more medals were added to an already impressive haul. While a gold medal continues to remain out of reach, the performances underlined the depth and consistency of the Indian contingent, with teenage sensation Ravi Budigina once again making his presence felt.

The 18-year-old visually impaired swimmer from Andhra Pradesh completed a hat-trick of medals by claiming bronze in the men’s 50m freestyle S13. Budigina touched the wall in 25.89 seconds to secure third place, adding another medal to the two silver medals he had already collected in the 100m backstroke and 100m freestyle S13 events.

His latest podium finish was part of a four-medal day for India in swimming. Kapil Kumar produced a strong performance in the men’s 400m freestyle S10, stopping the clock at 4:38.44 to take silver. Japan’s Akito Minai dominated the event, winning gold in a Games-record time of 4:27.44.

Swatik Patil also made his mark, securing bronze in the men’s 100m breaststroke SB9 with a time of 1:13.77. Iran’s Sina Zeyghaminejad and Shahin Izadyar finished ahead of him to claim gold and silver respectively.

Tejas Nandakumar completed India’s medal sweep for the day with bronze in the men’s 100m backstroke S7. His time of 1:18.58 placed him behind China’s Jingsong Ruan, who set a Games record of 1:12.16, and Singapore’s Soong Wei Toh, who took silver in 1:16.09.

The four podium finishes took India’s swimming medal tally to 10. Yet, the absence of gold remains the one missing piece in an otherwise encouraging campaign.

For Budigina, however, the three-medal run has already made him one of the standout figures of India’s swimming challenge, while the wider contingent continues to push for a breakthrough at the top of the podium.