India's para shuttlers stormed into three finals at the Asian Para Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya on Thursday, as Paris Paralympic champion Nitesh Kumar reached both the men's singles SL3 final and the mixed doubles final, and debutant Naveen Sivakumar booked his place in the men's singles SL4 gold-medal match, IANS reported.

Source: IANS

Nitesh beat Indonesia's Imran Muh Al in straight games in the SL3 semifinal, edging a close first game 21-19 before closing out the second 21-16, ANI reported. He will now play for gold as he looks to add the Asian Para Games title to his Paralympic crown.

Source: ANI via Latestly

In the SL4 semifinal, Naveen defeated compatriot Abhijeet Sakhuja 21-13, 21-15 in an all-Indian contest. The win put Naveen, on his Asian Para Games debut, into the final, while Sakhuja took bronze.

Nitesh then returned to court with Thulasimathi Murugesan in the mixed doubles SL3-SU5 semifinal and the pair beat China's Li Mingpan and Xiao Zuxian 21-19, 14-21, 21-17 in a demanding three-game match that included a 79-second rally, IANS reported. They will face Indonesia's Leani Ratri Oktila and Hikmat Ramdani in the final.

The finals run capped a productive day for India's para badminton squad, which had already collected five bronzes on Thursday — including debutant Sanjana Kumari in the women's singles SL3 — taking India's overall tally at the Games to 69 medals, as reported earlier by Awaaz Punjab.