Asian Para Games: Kokila Clinches Silver in J2, Kapil Parmar Bags Bronze in J1 Judo

Nagoya, Oct 19: India's visually impaired judokas Kokila and Kapil Parmar secured a silver and a bronze medal, respectively, at the Asian Para Games on Monday, adding to the country's medal tally at the continental event.

Kokila claimed silver in the women's J2 -52kg category after losing to Kyrgyzstan's Aibike Ulanbek Kyzy in the final at the Aichi Prefectural Martial Arts Hall. Kyzy secured an Ippon, judo's highest-scoring move that ends a contest immediately, in just 21 seconds to clinch the gold medal.

The Hangzhou Asian Para Games bronze medallist had earlier defeated China's Yi Liu 1-0 in the semifinals. Kokila registered a waza-ari and a yuko against her Chinese opponent, who managed one waza-ari. The judoka from Kasun village in Haryana's Jind district had won bronze in the -48kg category at the previous edition in 2023.

Kokila also represented India at the 2024 Paris Paralympics and has enjoyed success at international competitions, including a silver medal at the Judo Grand Prix in Astana earlier this year.

Meanwhile, Kapil Parmar, who won silver at the previous edition of the Asian Para Games, settled for bronze in the men's J1-70 kg category. He lost 0-1 to Indonesia's Junaedi in the semifinals before defeating another Indonesian, Ahnaf Rafli Shidqi, 1-0 in the bronze-medal playoff. Kapil secured the victory with an Ippon in a contest that lasted just over a minute.

"I came here with the intent of winning gold but ended with a bronze. Fortune was not with me today as far as gold is concerned, but I am grateful for this bronze. I have worked very hard, and this is the first medal that I have won in a long time," an emotional Kapil said. His mother has not been keeping well for some time.

Kapil, who won bronze at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, was also a gold medallist at the 2019 Commonwealth Championships.

Judo for athletes with visual impairments is contested in J1 and J2 classifications, with J1 athletes having more severe visual impairment than those competing in J2.