Indian Women's Cricket Team Wins First Gold at Asian Games 2026 in Cricket

The third day of the 2026 Asian Games (September 22) brought several significant achievements for India. The women's cricket team defeated Sri Lanka by 147 runs to win the gold medal. Additionally, the men's badminton team secured a spot among the medalists by defeating host country Japan with a score of 3:0. Successes were also noted in sports disciplines by Roshibin Devi, who earned her third medal at the Asian Games.

The Indian women's squad won the final against Sri Lanka, scoring 216/3 in 20 overs. Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma opened the partnership for 99 runs in this match. Mandhana was noted for becoming the first female cricketer to score 11,000 international runs. Richa Ghosh helped push the total score of the Indian team past 200, scoring 49 runs without a wicket in just 22 deliveries. In response, the Sri Lankan team was dismissed for 69 runs. Shafali took two wickets, and Dipti Sharma recorded three.

India successfully defended its 2023 World Cup title in Hangzhou, while Sri Lanka finished as the silver medalist.

In the men's badminton quarter-final, the team beat Japan 3:0, thus guaranteeing their place among the medalists. Lakshya Sen, who trailed 14:19 in the decisive match against Kodai Naraoki, ranked seventh in the world, managed to win 11:21, 21:5, and 21:19. Following this, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty defeated the pair Hoki Takuro-Kuboyasi Yugo with scores of 21:18 and 24:22. Ayush Shetty concluded India's triumph with scores of 21:10 and 21:19 against Koki Watanabe.

However, the women's team lost to Japan with a score of 1:3. Pi Vinthu, Unnati Hooda, and Tanvi Sharma lost their singles matches, while Trisha Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand secured India's only victory.

In the Wushu competition in the 60 kg Sanda category, Roshibin Devi defeated Chu Meng Xin from Macau by points, advancing to the semi-finals. This marked her third medal at the Asian Games. Previously, she had won bronze in Jakarta in 2018 and silver in Hangzhou.

Among other Indian athletes in Wushu, Hanjabam Lenglentombi Devi placed ninth in the final for Nanquan and Nandao nominations. In the men's 56 kg tournament, Aryan lost to Saidullo Aburashitov from Uzbekistan with a score of 1:2 in the quarter-finals.

The Indian men's team achieved a convincing victory over Sri Lanka with a score of 16:1, securing their second major win in Group A. Jugraj Singh scored four goals, while Abhishek and Dilpreet Singh each scored three goals. Prior to this, India had beaten Indonesia 13:1. Suresh Ratnake from Sri Lanka became a historic figure by scoring his team's first goal against India at the Asian Games. India's next opponent will be South Korea.

In the women's 51 kg weight class, Sakshi Choudhary defeated Iru Villegas, an Olympic medalist from Beijing, with a score of 5:0. Sakshi now faces the reigning world champion Alua Balkibekova. Jadamani Singh defeated Chandra Bahadur Tapu from Nepal with a score of 5:0; in the round of 16, she is set to face Carlo Palom, a silver medalist from the Tokyo Olympics.

In shooting, the pair Elavenil Valarivan and Parta Mane placed fourth in the mixed team final in the 10-meter air rifle. This pair initially had hopes of a medal, having secured second place in the qualification round. In men's skeleton, Anandjit Singh Naruka is jointly leading with four other athletes after four rounds.

The women's tennis team reached the quarter-finals, beating Thailand 3:2, but subsequently lost to North Korea 0:3. The men's team was eliminated in the round of 16 after losing to South Korea 3:0.

The only Indian gymnast, Pranati Nayak, qualified for the vault final, placing seventh with a score of 12.916. In soft tennis, Jay Mina defeated Aran Hussain from Pakistan 4:0, advancing to the quarter-finals. The men's kabaddi team defeated South Korea in Group A with a score of 63:31.

In eFootball, the Indian pair drew 0:0 against Uzbekistan and then received a walkover against Mongolia. In sports such as Sepak Takraw, fencing, and karate, India suffered defeats. The men's 4x100 meter relay team advanced to the final.

The victorious Indian women's team once again refused to accept the championship trophy from Mohammad Nasim of the Pakistan Cricket Board at the International Stadium in Dubai on Sunday, repeating the dispute over the trophy at the 2025 Asian Cup.

Nasim, who is also the president of the Asian Cricket Council, arrived at the final of the Women's Asia Cup T20 2026 between India and Sri Lanka. The Indian team achieved a convincing victory by a margin of 72 runs. However, the Indian squad did not attend the award ceremony to receive the trophy.

Last year, the Indian men's team also refused to accept the trophy from Nasim after defeating Pakistan in the final of the Men's Asia Cup T20 at the same International Stadium in Dubai.

Diplomatic relations between India and Pakistan reached an historic low after the two nuclear neighbors of South Asia nearly engaged in a full-scale war in May 2025. Nasim, who also holds the position of Pakistan's Minister of Interior, held a lengthy meeting with other officials after the match on Sunday.

He eventually headed to the awards area, clearly indicating that he would present the trophies to the winners and silver medalists. Nevertheless, the Indian team returned to the locker room while the Sri Lankans received their medals amidst a hail of disapproval from the Indian public at the stadium.

In the thrilling final of the Women's Asian Cup 2026, the Indian squad achieved a convincing victory over Sri Lanka by a margin of 72 runs, thereby adding a brilliant trophy to its arsenal. Throughout the entire match, the dominance of the Indian athletes was evident.

The players who batted first on the field created a real storm, and subsequently, the bowlers forced the Sri Lankan batsmen to concede. Thus, India once again confirmed its status as a dominant force.

Choosing the toss, the Indian team started the game with batting. Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma provided an explosive start, setting a record partnership of 129 runs in the first innings. Shafali scored 68 runs, hitting 9 fours and 2 sixes off 39 balls. Smriti Mandhana also played a powerful innings, scoring 59 runs with 5 fours and 3 sixes off the same 39 balls.

However, after Shafali lost her wicket at a score of 129, the Indian momentum slightly faltered. The score, which could have exceeded 200 at that moment, stopped at 183 because the middle-order players could not handle the pressure. Ultimately, thanks to small contributions from Richa Ghosh (17 runs) and J. Kamalini (15* runs), India posted a substantial total of 183 runs in 20 overs, losing 5 batsmen.

The Sri Lankan team, which needed to chase a large target of 184 runs, faced a very poor start. Kranti Gaude put pressure on Sri Lanka, delivering early blows and forcing the team into a defensive posture. Nevertheless, captain Chamari Attapattu and Wismi Gunaratne tried to restore hope to the team by forming a partnership of over fifty runs, but Dipti Sharma ended these remaining hopes by dismissing both batsmen in one spell.

After this, Sri Charani broke the back of Sri Lanka by unleashing her spin magic, sending Harshita Samarwickrama and Kavisha Dilhari to the pavilion. The Sri Lankan team managed to score only 111 runs, and India won the Asian Cup final by 72 runs, hoisting the trophy high.