India’s campaign at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Para Games features several established names, including javelin thrower Sumit Antil, archer Sheetal Devi and badminton player Pramod Bhagat.
However, the Indian contingent also includes athletes competing in less familiar disciplines whose journeys deserve attention.
Among them are Anjali Devi and Sachin Chamaria, who are representing India in boccia, a precision sport that remains relatively unknown in the country. Here are five Indian athletes who you may not have noticed:
Anjali Devi is among the two athletes representing India in boccia at the 2026 , alongside Sachin Chamaria. She is competing in the women’s individual BC3 category and will also partner Chamaria in the mixed pairs BC3 event.
Boccia is a target-based sport in which players aim to place their coloured balls as close as possible to a white target ball, known as the jack. Depending on their classification and requirements, athletes can propel the balls by hand, foot or assistive equipment.
The sport demands precision, tactical judgement and consistency. For Anjali, the competition is also an opportunity to introduce more Indian spectators to a discipline that receives considerably less attention than athletics, badminton and shooting.
Sachin Chamaria’s journey into para-sport began after a road accident in Kolkata in 2008 left him paralysed from the neck down. He was 17 at the time and had previously practised martial arts, including competing in taekwondo.
After the accident, Chamaria eventually found a new sporting avenue in boccia. He began competing in the discipline in 2020 after encouragement from his therapist, having initially tried club throw.
His progress has included multiple national titles in the BC3 category and international podium finishes.
He won silver and bronze medals at the 2024 World Boccia Challenger in Cairo and subsequently secured gold at a competition in Bahrain. He also became the first Indian to qualify for the World Boccia Championships in the BC3 category.
At the 2026 Asian Para Games, Chamaria began his men’s individual BC3 campaign with an 8-4 victory over the UAE’s Khalifa Ahmad. He is also scheduled to compete alongside Anjali in the mixed pairs event.
has a particularly significant responsibility at the Aichi-Nagoya Games: he is India’s sole para-cyclist in the approved contingent. His events include the men’s C1-3 1,000m time trial, C1-2 3,000m individual pursuit, C1-3 road race and C1-5 time trial.
Shaik competes in the C2 classification, which is part of para-cycling’s track and road racing categories for athletes with eligible physical impairments.
is a familiar name to the followers of para judo but his discipline remains less prominent in India’s wider sporting conversation. He won bronze in the men’s J1 60kg category at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, becoming India’s first Paralympic medallist in para-judo. He had previously won silver at the 2023 Asian Para Games in Hangzhou.
Parmar was born to a farming family in Madhya Pradesh. At 17, he lost his sight after being electrocuted while playing in the fields of his village.
A villager found him unconscious, and he was soon taken to a hospital, remaining in coma for six months. This left his eyes severely injured, which meant that he would compete in the J1 category, which is for athletes who have lost 90 percent of their vision.
He later moved to Lucknow to train under coach Munawar Anzar and rebuild his sporting career.
Kokila is another Indian para-judoka competing in Aichi-Nagoya. She is entered in the women’s J2 under-52kg category at the 2026 Asian Para Games. Her recent international results offer an indication of her progress.
Kokila won bronze at the IBSA Judo World Cup in Tbilisi in March 2026 before claiming silver at the IBSA Judo Grand Prix in Astana in May.
She also won bronze at the 2023 Asian Para Games in Hangzhou, establishing herself as a continental medallist before the current edition.
