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Indian para-swimmer Himanshu Nandal won bronze in the men’s 400m freestyle S11 final at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Para Games on Tuesday, October 20. The 22-year-old from Rohtak, Haryana, clocked 5 minutes 10.91 seconds to finish third, adding another medal to India’s para-swimming campaign in Japan.
China’s Chuanzhen Sun took gold with an Asian-record performance, while Japan’s Uchu Tomita secured silver. Nandal’s podium finish gave India its second medal in para swimming at this edition, following Ravi Karthik Budigina’s silver in the men’s 100m freestyle S13 event, according to reports published on Tuesday.
Nandal delivered a third-place finish in a four-swimmer final, with his time of 5:10.91 placing him behind Sun and Tomita. The result added a bronze to India’s growing medal tally and provided a positive response after a near miss in another event earlier in the competition.
On Monday, October 19, Nandal finished fourth in the men’s 100m backstroke S11 final. The backstroke result left him just outside the medals, but he returned to the pool the following day and converted his opportunity in the 400m freestyle into a podium finish.
The S11 classification is used for swimmers with very significant visual impairment. Competition in this class places a premium on pacing, technique and race management over the distance, with athletes completing 400 metres across eight lengths of a standard 50-metre pool.
Nandal’s sporting path has included a change of discipline. Reports say he initially competed in judo and won medals at national level before moving into swimming in 2021. The switch marked a new phase in his sporting career and eventually took him to the international para-swimming stage.
He is from Rohtak in Haryana and studied political science at Delhi University’s Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma College. His progress in swimming has included national-level success and international classification, milestones that helped him pursue competition at a higher level.
Nandal also achieved the minimum qualifying standard for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, but did not secure a place because of country quota allocations, according to published reports. That context makes his medal in Nagoya a significant international result in a career shaped by persistence and a transition between sports.
Nandal’s bronze was reported as India’s second medal in para swimming at the 2026 Asian Para Games. Budigina had earlier won silver in the men’s 100m freestyle S13 event. Budigina also contested the men’s 400m freestyle S13 final on October 20, finishing outside the medals, according to The Tribune’s report based on ANI.
The performances in different sport classes underline the range of events contested in para swimming. S11 is for athletes with significant visual impairment, while S13 is for athletes with less severe visual impairment within the eligible classification system. Results across the classes are recorded separately, recognising the distinct competition categories.
India’s wider campaign in Aichi-Nagoya includes athletics, para badminton, para archery, powerlifting and other sports. Every podium finish contributes to the national team’s overall performance, while individual results also help athletes build experience against leading competitors from across Asia.
For Nandal, the bronze provides a tangible reward after his fourth-place finish in the backstroke and highlights his ability to compete across different swimming events. For India, it strengthens the para-swimming medal return and gives the team another result to build on as the multi-sport competition continues.
The result also adds to the visibility of para swimming in India, where athletes often move through national championships and classification pathways before reaching major international meets. Nandal’s journey from judo to swimming illustrates how athletes can find a new competitive route and continue developing toward elite competition.
His 5:10.91 finish in the 400m freestyle S11 will stand as the key figure from the race. With Sun setting an Asian record for gold and Tomita taking silver, Nandal secured third place in a field that demanded sustained effort over the distance. India’s next focus will be on the remaining swimming events and the wider medal programme in Nagoya.
