India’s Pranav Desai improves on previous Para Asian Games finish with bronze

Nagoya: Pranav Desai won the bronze medal in the men’s 100m T64 event at the Para Asian Games in Nagoya on Wednesday, clocking 11.96 seconds.

At the 2022 Hangzhou Para Asian Games, Pranav finished fourth with a time of 11.91 seconds. He improved his finishing position by one place, despite clocking 0.05 seconds slower.

The T64 category is for athletes with lower-limb impairments who compete using prostheses, including those with limb deficiency or leg-length differences. Pranav, who hails from Thane, Maharashtra, is a congenital right below-knee amputee.

He has competed in para sports since 2017 and specialises in the T64 sprint events — the 100m and 200m.

Earlier, India secured another one-two finish in para athletics, with Dilip Gavit Mahadu winning gold in the men’s 100m T46 event and Mohammed Basil Morssinganakathi taking silver in the men’s 100m T47 event.

Gavit Mahadu clocked 10.69 seconds to win gold, while Basil secured silver in 10.72 seconds, setting a new Games record in the event.

The duo repeated their one-two finish at the 2026 Commonwealth Games, where Gavit won gold with a Games record in the men’s 100m T47 event and Basil took silver.

The T46 and T47 classifications apply to standing athletes with upper-limb impairments, including limb deficiency or amputation. T46 generally covers athletes with more significant upper-limb impairments, while T47 is for athletes with less significant impairments.