Nagoya: India's Swati Chaudhary secured the country's first-ever medal in the W1 category of archery at the Asian Para Games, winning silver in the women's individual event in Nagoya on Thursday.
The top-seeded Indian, coached by Athens Olympian Satyadev Prasad at Gurukul Archery Academy in Meerut, squandered a 4-2 lead to lose 4-6 to Mengkan in a final of fluctuating fortunes.
Swati had a chance to win India’s first gold medal in archery at the ongoing edition, taking a 4-2 lead after three ends. However, Cen staged a comeback to win the final 6-4, leaving the Indian archer with the silver medal.
Swati went down 25-17, 21-22, 22-21, 20-30, 21-28 as the world No. 23 Chinese archer produced a strong finish to clinch her maiden Asian Para Games gold.
Swati, who won a bronze medal at the World Archery Para Series in Ahmedabad last month, made a promising start, taking the opening set 25-17 after Cen misfired with one of her arrows. The Indian thus moved ahead 2-0 in the set-point scoring format.
Cen fought back in the second set, capitalising on Swati's inconsistency as the Indian dropped to five and six rings. Swati narrowly lost the set 21-22, allowing the Chinese to level the contest at 2-2.
The Indian regained the lead in the third set after Cen struggled with her three arrows, scoring eight, seven and six. Swati edged the set 22-21 to move within a set of gold at 4-2.
However, the momentum swung decisively in Cen's favour in the fourth set. The Chinese found her range with three perfect 10s to shoot 30 and take the set 30-20, levelling the match at 4-4.
With the title at stake, Cen maintained her composure in the deciding set, dropping just two points to score 28 against Swati's 21. The Chinese sealed the set 28-21 and completed the comeback to claim gold, leaving the Indian with silver.
The historic podium finish caps a remarkable journey for the 37-year-old from Meerut, who competes in the technically demanding W1 category for athletes with severe impairments affecting both their upper and lower limbs. The classification includes athletes with conditions such as tetraplegia, or comparable loss of muscle power and limb function.
Despite financial constraints that have limited her ability to attend major international trials, Swati has consistently delivered strong performances on the international stage. At the World Archery Para Series in Bangkok in 2026, she won three silver medals -- in the women's W1 individual, women's W1 team and W1 mixed team events.
She also won gold in the women's W1 event at the 2025 Para Archery National Championships and the Khelo India Para Games 2025, establishing herself among India's leading archers in the category.
Swati's campaign is supported under the government's Annual Calendar for Training and Competition (ACTC), with financial assistance of Rs 51,99,651 for training and competition.
Earlier on day three of the competition, India moved up from sixth to fifth in the overall standings of the Asian Para Games 2026. Indian athletes broke Games Records, set personal bests and swept all three medals in an event in Aichi-Nagoya.
(With inputs from PTI & ANI)
