Nagoya (Japan), 22 October 2026: Indian Army Subedar Solairaj Dharmaraj successfully defended his Asian Para Games title in the men’s long jump T44/T62/T64 combined event, setting a new Asian record of 7.15 metres at the Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium during the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Games.
Competing in the T64 classification (for athletes with moderate lower-limb impairment or below-knee amputation), the 32-year-old from Tamil Nadu produced the record-breaking leap on his second attempt. His sequence of jumps was 6.88 m, 7.15 m, 6.82 m, 6.85 m, followed by two fouls. The effort earned him 807 Raza points, comfortably securing gold.
Malaysia’s Eddy Bernard (T44) took silver with 6.34 m (740 points), while Japan’s Yuma Tamaki (T64) claimed bronze with a personal best of 6.89 m (726 points).
The 7.15 m mark improves Dharmaraj’s own previous Asian record of 7.08 m, set at the 2025 World Para Athletics Championships in New Delhi, where he finished seventh. Earlier in 2026, he had jumped 7.05 m to win a combined T44/T64 event at the World Para Athletics Grand Prix in New Delhi.
This is Dharmaraj’s second consecutive Asian Para Games gold. At the Hangzhou edition (held in October 2023), he won the T64 long jump with a final-round leap of 6.80 m, which was then both an Asian and Games record. He had failed his first three attempts, recorded 6.36 m on the fourth, fouled the fifth, and sealed gold on his sixth jump, defeating Sri Lanka’s Maththaka Gamage (6.68 m).
Army background and recovery
Dharmaraj, born on 22 May 1994 in Thoothukudi (Tuticorin), Tamil Nadu, serves as a Subedar in the Madras Regiment. In November 2018, while on high-altitude duty in the Kargil sector, he developed complications from a blood clot in his left leg that progressed to severe nerve damage. The limb turned black and swollen, necessitating a below-knee amputation. He was treated at the Army Artificial Limb Centre in Pune.
After a period of recovery and initial uncertainty, he was motivated by fellow para-athlete Naib Subedar Someswararao Ramudri. He joined the Army Paralympic Node in 2019, was fitted with a running blade, and began systematic training at the Army Sports Institute in Ghorpadi, Pune. He competes using an Ossur Cheetah Xpanse carbon-fibre blade and has spoken of aspirations to reach 8 metres.
The victory formed part of a strong Indian showing on Day 4 of the Games (18–24 October 2026). Reports placed India’s medal tally near 88 medals (including approximately 21 golds) following the day’s results, with other notable performances in archery, athletics, and other sports. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several public figures extended congratulations.
Dharmaraj’s progression—from a 6.80 m Games record in 2023 to successive improvements culminating in 7.15 m—underlines his consistency at the continental level and the role of structured Army support in developing para-athletes.
