India’s Dharmaraj Solairaj reinforced his dominance on the continental stage by defending his men’s long jump title at the 2026 Asian Para Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. Competing on Thursday at the Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium, the 32-year-old athlete produced a stunning record-breaking effort of 7.15m in the combined T44/T62/T64 final to secure his second successive gold medal at the multi-sport event.
Record-Breaking Performance
Solairaj began his campaign with a strong jump of 6.88m before soaring to his decisive 7.15m mark on his second attempt. That stellar leap established a new Asian record, eclipsing his previous benchmark of 7.08m set at the 2025 World Para Athletics Championships in New Delhi. Despite following up with attempts of 6.82m and 6.85m and fouling his final two jumps, his early mark remained untouched at the top of the standings.
- Gold Medalist: Dharmaraj Solairaj secured top spot with 807 Raza points and a best jump of 7.15m.
- Silver Medalist: Malaysia’s Eddy Bernard finished second with 740 points after a 6.34m leap in the T44 class.
- Bronze Medalist: Japan’s Yuma Tamaki claimed third place with 726 points, managing a personal-best 6.89m in the T64 category.
- Scoring System: Athletes across various classifications competed using the Raza points system to evaluate impairments fairly.
Continued Progression and Legacy
This latest triumph extends an impressive streak of international achievements for the Indian jumper. Solairaj initially captured attention at the Hangzhou Asian Para Games in October 2023, where he won gold with a 6.80m leap. He further demonstrated his competitive edge earlier in 2026 by securing the combined T44/T64 event at the World Para Athletics Grand Prix in New Delhi with a distance of 7.05m. Competing within the T64 classification, which involves athletes with lower-limb impairments using running prostheses, Solairaj continues to raise the performance ceiling for regional para-athletics.
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