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Asian Para Games: Kancheepuram's Thulasimathi (with Manasi Joshi) assures India's first medal by reaching the doubles semi-finals

19-10-2026 · English

Asian Para Games: Kancheepuram's Thulasimathi (with Manasi Joshi) assures India's first medal by reaching the doubles semi-finals

Topics: Sports · 19 October 2026 Current Affairs (UPSC / TNPSC / SSC / RRB)

News

At the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Para Games on 17 Oct 2026, Kancheepuram's Thulasimathi Murugesan and Manasi Joshi beat China's Liu Yuemei and Li Tongtong in straight games in women's doubles SL3–SU5 (Group A) to reach the semi-finals, assuring India's first medal (at least bronze) of the Games. They had earlier beaten an Indonesian pair. The same day Thulasimathi won her SU5 singles match 21-2, 21-2. (This was the first medal assured; India's first medals were actually won on 19 Oct.)

Key facts

AthleteThulasimathi Murugesan – born 11 Apr 2002, Kancheepuram; congenital left-hand impairment
ClassSingles SU5; doubles SL3–SU5 (partner Manasi Joshi)
17 Oct winBeat China's Liu Yuemei/Li Tongtong in straight games – semi-final; medal assured
Hangzhou 2022Singles SU5 gold; women's doubles silver (with Manasi); mixed doubles bronze (with Nitesh Kumar)
Paris 2024Women's singles SU5 silver – lost the final to China's Yang Qiuxia
Award / trainingArjuna Award 2024 (announced 2 Jan 2025); Gopichand Academy, Hyderabad; studies veterinary science at Namakkal

Background

  • Para-badminton classes: WH1, WH2 – wheelchair; SL3, SL4 – standing, lower-limb impairment; SU5 – standing, upper-limb impairment; SH6 – short stature. Para-badminton made its Paralympic debut at Tokyo 2020.
  • Governing body: the Badminton World Federation (BWF) – HQ Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia); it has governed para-badminton since 2011. India's Paralympic badminton golds: Pramod Bhagat (SL3) and Krishna Nagar (SH6) – Tokyo 2020; Nitesh Kumar (SL3) – Paris 2024.
  • Historic feat: at Paris 2024 (2 Sep), Thulasimathi (silver) and Manisha Ramadass (bronze) in women's singles SU5 became the first Indian women to win Paralympic badminton medals; the same day Nithya Sre Sivan won SH6 bronze – all three from Tamil Nadu.

Tamil Nadu link: on 25 Sep 2024 the Chief Minister presented cash awards to the Paris 2024 Paralympic medallists – ₹2 crore to Thulasimathi; ₹1 crore each to Nithya Sre Sivan, Manisha Ramadass and Mariyappan Thangavelu. All three Tamil Nadu para-shuttlers – Thulasimathi, Manisha and Nithya Sre – received the Arjuna Award for 2024.

Source: Khel Now, The CSR Journal, The Bridge, 17 Oct 2026; The Bridge (Sep 2024); DT Next (Arjuna, Jan 2025); Wikipedia

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