Tajikistan wins its first-ever Asian Para Games medal as Shohrukh Nazarov takes silver

Tajik para-judoka Shohrukh Nazarov has won silver in the men’s J1 81kg category at the 2026 Asian Para Games in Japan, securing the first medal for Tajikistan in the history of the continental competition. The 33-year-old reached the final after winning three consecutive bouts before losing to Uzbekistan’s Shohrukh Mamedov.

The 5th Asian Para Games are being held from October 18 to 24 in Japan’s Aichi Prefecture and Nagoya. According to the official roster, Tajikistan has 10 athletes — nine men and one woman — competing in six sports. Before the team’s departure, the National Paralympic Committee had announced 13 athletes.

Nazarov competed on October 20 at the Aichi Prefectural Martial Arts Hall. The J1 classification is for blind judokas.

Three wins on the way to silver

Nazarov began his campaign with a victory over China’s Zhou Zhiwei, winning by ippon after 3 minutes and 35 seconds.

In the quarterfinal, he defeated Kazakhstan’s Yergali Shamei by waza-ari after the full four minutes. He then beat another Kazakh athlete, Baurzhan Arstanbekov, by ippon at 2:04 in the semifinal to secure his place in the final.

In the gold-medal bout, Nazarov faced Uzbekistan’s Shohrukh Mamedov. The contest lasted the full four minutes, with Mamedov earning a yuko to take gold and leave the Tajik athlete with silver.

Shokhrukh Nazarov competed on 20 October in para-judo, class J1, weight category 81 kg. J1 is the sport class for visually impaired judokas. His bouts took place at the Aichi Prefectural Martial Arts Hall. Nazarov’s road to silver was an eventful one — he won three consecutive bouts before reaching the final.

A historic achievement for Tajikistan

Tajikistan has participated in the Summer Asian Para Games since 2010 but had never won a medal before Nazarov’s performance in Japan. His silver is therefore the country’s first-ever medal at the Games.

At the time of the reported results, Tajikistan ranked 23rd in the medal standings with one silver. China led with 70 gold, 44 silver and 35 bronze medals, followed by Uzbekistan with 17 gold, 21 silver and 18 bronze, and Japan with 16 gold, 20 silver and 27 bronze.

Tajikistan’s 10 registered athletes are competing across six sports.

In para-judo, Nazarov is joined by Rajab Huseinov and Murodjon Oripov, both competing in the J1 class.

The para-athletics team includes Firdavs Buriyev (T47), Ramazon Mirzoyev (T12) and Akmal Qodirov (F63). Fatkhidin Ahmadi represents the country in para-powerlifting, Zubair Saidov in para-badminton (SU5), and Siyovush Ilyasov in para-cycling (B).

The team’s only woman, Nadima Nurbekova, is competing in para-table tennis in class 9.

The Asian Para Games run until October 24 and bring together athletes with disabilities from across Asia. The 2026 edition features 18 sports and 502 medal events, with around 3,000 athletes from 45 countries expected to take part.