India wins sixth gold at Asian Games; medals in athletics

On the ninth day of the Asian Games 2026, Indian athletes continue to actively participate in the competitions. It is expected that there will be many medals in athletics, while athletes in other disciplines strive to demonstrate outstanding results to increase India's overall medal tally.

On the eighth day of the Asian Games, India won seven awards: four silver and three bronze. In swimming, Anahat Singh and Abhay Singh lost in the final matches, receiving silver medals. Additionally, Ensi Sodjan and Sarvesh Kushare added glory to the country by winning silver. Harita Bhadra, Tejashwin Shankar, and Parul Chaudhary received bronze medals.

Shooter Ganesh Mani reached the quarterfinals of the men's individual competition, defeating his compatriot Sahil Jadhav with a score of 149-148 in the second round. Previously, he won the first round with a score of 144-142.

The competition schedule includes the following events: at 4:45 AM — qualifying round of the men's individual competition (Sahil Jadhav vs Jamyangombo Purevordorj from Mongolia; Ganesh Mani Ratnam Thirumuru vs Sostar Andaru Rinaldi from Indonesia); at 5:25 AM — men's individual competition round of 1/8 (Sahil Jadhav and Ganesh Mani Ratnam Thirumuru, depending on qualification); at 9:45 AM — qualifying round of the women's individual competition (Jyoti Surekha Venem vs Adel Jaksenbina from Kazakhstan; Chikita Taniparti); at 10:25 AM — women's individual competition round of 1/8 (Jyoti Surekha Venem and Chikita Taniparti, depending on qualification).

The athletics schedule includes the following finals and rounds: at 2:35 PM — women's discus throw final (Sima, Sanya Yadav); at 3:09 PM — first stage of the mixed 4x100 meters relay (India); at 3:53 PM — women's 400 meters hurdles final (Vitya Ramraj, Anu Ragwan); at 4:03 PM — men's 400 meters hurdles final (Santosh Kumar Tamilarasan); at 4:13 PM — men's 3000 meters steeple chase final (Avinash Sable); at 4:25 PM — men's long jump final (David Solomon Patturaj, Murili Shrishankar); at 4:35 PM — men's 1500 meters final (Yunus Shah, Gulvir Singh); at 4:45 PM — men's javelin throw final (Rohit Yadav, Yash Vir Singh); at 4:50 PM — women's 800 meters round 1 (Gautami Jairaman (stage 1), Pooja (stage 2)); at 5:13 PM — women's 5000 meters final (Sima, Parul Chaudhary); at 6:01 PM — first stage of the mixed 4x400 meters relay (India); at 6:34 PM — women's 4x100 meters relay final (India).

The boxing schedule includes the following bouts: at 1:30 PM — women's 75 kg quarterfinal (Lovlina Borgohain vs Suyon Seong from South Korea); at 2:45 PM — women's 60 kg quarterfinal (Priya Ganghas vs Midzgan Samdov from Tajikistan); at 3:45 PM — men's 90 kg quarterfinal (Kapil Pokhria vs Giche Kim from South Korea).

The competitions include: at 8:00 AM — women's 78 kg quarterfinal (Pinky Balhara); at 10:30 AM — women's 78 kg semi-final (Pinky Balhara, depending on qualification); at 11:30 AM — women's 78 kg final (Pinky Balhara, depending on qualification).

The cricket schedule features a men's team quarterfinal match between India and Afghanistan at 10 AM.

In hockey, a men's group stage match between India and Bangladesh will take place at 3:30 PM.

The sailing schedule includes the following events: at 7:30 AM — men's dinghy qualification series (Vishnu Saravanan); at 7:30 AM — men's skiff start series (Prince Kurisinkl Noble, Manu Francis); at 7:40 AM — women's dinghy qualification series (Netra Kumannan); at 7:40 AM — women's skiff start series (Harshita Tomar, Shital Varma); at 8:30 AM — mixed dinghy start series (Shraddha Varma, Ravindra Kumar Sharma); at 10:40 AM — girls' dinghy start series (Mahi Varma).

Sepak Takraw events include: at 6:30 AM — women's double group stage B (India (Priti Langoldjam, Menenu Tsukuru, Lerentonbi Devi Langbam) vs Japan); at 10:30 AM — women's double semi-final (India, depending on qualification).

Shooting events include: at 6:10 AM — qualification and team final of women's 25m pistol (Rapid stage) (Manu Bhakar, Isha Singh, Rahi Sarnobat); at 6:30 AM — qualification and team final of men's shotgun (second day) (Akhwar Rizvi, Kinan Chennai, Shafnat Bhardwaj); at 6:30 AM — qualification and team final of women's shotgun (second day) (Manisha Kir, Ashima Ahalawat, Niru); at 10:45 AM — women's individual 25m pistol final (Manu Bhakar, Isha Singh, Rahi Sarnobat, depending on qualification).

Volleyball features a men's group stage match between India and Hong Kong at 6:30 AM.

Squash events include: at 6:30 AM — women's team group stage C (India vs China); at 8:30 AM — men's team group stage A (India vs China); at 12:00 PM — women's team group stage C (India vs Japan); at 2:00 PM — men's team group stage A (India vs South Korea).

Tennis events include: at 6:30 AM — men's singles second round (Sumit Nagl vs Hong Seong-Chang from South Korea); before 11:00 AM — women's doubles first round (Ankita Raina/Ratujha Bhosale vs Anna Denilina/Yulia Putinseva from Kazakhstan).

Surfing features the third round of men's shortboard (stage 2) at 3:58 AM (Shivaj Babu vs J).

India invested significant funds in preparing for the Asian Games, allocating approximately 702.86 billion rupees over the last three years for athlete training, international experience, equipment, coach and expert services. Furthermore, 97.84 billion rupees was allocated through the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS), bringing the total government contribution to preparations to 800.70 billion rupees.

This comparison is quite telling, as the Ministry of Sports budgeted 190 billion rupees for World Cup and Asian Games preparations in 2022–23. However, preparations over three years required investments of nearly 800 billion rupees.

A direct question arises: what is the true picture of India in Nagoya after such massive investments? As of September 24, India has won 1 gold, 7 silver, and 9 bronze medals, totaling only 17 awards. Although the overall medal count may seem acceptable, the situation on the medal table is worrying, as India ranks 14th.

The leaders of the table include China with 126 medals, including 78 gold; Japan with 89 medals and 20 gold; and South Korea with 50 medals and 10 gold. Meanwhile, India currently holds only one gold medal, which is a key feature of these games in Nagoya.

At the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, India achieved a historic result by surpassing the 100-medal mark, winning 106 medals, including 28 gold, 38 silver, and 40 bronze. India placed fourth, demonstrating its best performance at the Asian Games. Prior to this, India's best result was achieved in Jakarta in 2018, where it won 70 medals.

Thus, Hangzhou represented not just a good result, but a shift in expectations in Indian sports. Now, over 100 medals are considered a standard goal. Although the Nagoya games are not yet finished and final figures are unknown, the initial pace raised a serious question: 28 golds in Hangzhou, but only one in Nagoya so far?

While this comparison does not provide a complete picture, as the competition continues, it indicates that the dominance India showed in previous games was not evident at the start of the current tournament.

India's sole gold medal was won by the women's cricket team, which secured gold for the second consecutive time at the Asian Games by defeating Sri Lanka with a score of 147 runs.

Subsequently, the number of silver and bronze medals increased. Therefore, the question is not whether India is returning empty-handed. The question is much deeper: is India becoming a force capable of claiming gold in Asia, or is it remaining merely a country that wins medals?

The figure of 800 billion rupees is not just a headline. 251.4 billion rupees was spent on international experience, 118.3 billion on domestic training, 89.2 billion on equipment, 86.3 billion on foreign experts, and 39.8 billion on overseas training.

This time, 501 athletes are participating in the competition, 310 of whom are debuting at the Asian Games. The team also includes 265 support staff. This suggests an attempt to prepare not only the current team but also the next generation.

Therefore, decisions about the future cannot be made solely based on the medal table. However, money does not solve all problems. Investments can improve preparation, but they do not guarantee medals. And the Nagoya arena is currently testing these very investments.

India's problem is not just one gold medal. The main question is how many different sports disciplines India has a consistent ability to win gold in? In Hangzhou, shooting and athletics played a major role. Only in athletics were 29 medals won, and in shooting—22. Of these, 7 golds came from shooting, and 6 golds from athletics.

This means that India's strength has indeed increased in certain individual sports, but the question of consistently winning gold across many disciplines, like sporting powers such as China, Japan, and South Korea, remains open.

This is why the fact of winning 17 medals is less important than why there is only one gold among them.

India's history at the Asian Games exacerbates this discussion. Over decades, India has undoubtedly increased its medal count, but the gap with leading Asian powers remains significant. Despite winning 106 medals in Hangzhou, India ranked fourth behind China, Japan, and South Korea. Even at the initial stage of the current games, these three countries significantly outpace India.

Therefore, the next step for India cannot solely be about crossing the 100-medal mark. It needs to ask itself: how many golds? In how many sports? And in which sports can India not just compete, but dominate China, Japan, and Korea?

The Asian Games are not the final destination. They are an important step towards the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. Results in some sports at the Asian Games are relevant to Olympic preparation.

Despite expectations surrounding shooting at the Asian Games in Nagoya, five days have passed, and the Indian team has yet to secure a single gold medal. Although four silver and four bronze awards were obtained, there are more questions than answers in the discipline where India was expected to achieve the highest number of accolades.

On Thursday, the men's 10-meter air pistol team also disappointed. None of the eight shooters—Kamaljit, Akash Bhardwaj, and Kedaring Uchaganve—managed to qualify for the final. Kamaljit missed the final by only one point, scoring 580 points and finishing in ninth place. Bhardwaj secured 11th place with 579 points, while Kedaring placed 35th with 568 points.

The team's total score was 1727 points, which allowed India to rank fourth; however, this was three points short of a bronze medal. Japan surpassed India with a score of 1730 and won the bronze medal.

Thus, the problem lies not only in failing to reach the final but also in the minuscule difference that deprived India of the team medal.

Nevertheless, on Thursday, India won a bronze medal in the mixed team shooting tournament. The pair Parinadj Dhaliwal and Anandjit Singh Naruka took third place. Their scores across six series were 7, 14, 21, 29, 36, and 44 points, respectively.

In the final, the score between India and South Korea was tied at 44-44. Since the score was identical, the decision for gold or silver could not be made solely based on the final results. The qualification round score was used as the deciding factor. As India's qualification score was lower than South Korea's, Korea was ranked higher despite the tie in the final, and India received bronze.

A similar situation occurred the day before.

The result of the men's 10-meter air pistol tournament is particularly painful because just one day earlier, the women's Indian team, consisting of stars, also failed to make the final of the same event. The team included two-time Olympic medalist Manu Bhakar, world champion Isha Singh, and Suruchi Singh. Despite high expectations, India did not qualify for the final.

These two days of setbacks pose a serious question to Indian shooting: where exactly is the lapse occurring?

At the Hangzhou 2023 Asian Games, India won a record 22 medals in shooting, including seven golds. There was hope to repeat this success in Nagoya, but after five days, the picture looks different.

Kamaljit narrowly missed the final, and Kedaring's story is different.

For Kamaljit, the final was very close, indicating the depth of the disappointment. His score of 580 points led to ninth place, whereas the final threshold was 581 points. Bhardwaj was also close. However, Kedaring's problems were deeper. The shooter from the Indian army showed a loss of rhythm from the beginning, constantly losing points. When the score improvement stalled, he attempted to adjust the pistol settings, seemingly trying to regain lost momentum.

Concern was visible on the faces of Indian coaches in the spectator stands. Pierre Bouchon, a high-ranking director of sports achievements for India, also closely monitored the situation, but changing the settings did not help Kedaring. His shots contained more nines, and fewer high scores were achieved.

Then came the moment that changed the team medal equation. Coaches from the Japanese staff closely watched one of the Indian shooters during the last round. They observed his performance because a drop in India's points could open the path to bronze for Japan. Under pressure, Kedaring made another mistake. One shot in the last 10 shots scored an eight, dashing India's last hopes. Joy reigned in the Japanese camp, while for the Indian team, it became yet another disappointing finale. Japan finished third with a score of 1730, and India stopped at 1727.

China won gold with a score of 1743. Indonesia also scored 1743, but China won based on the 'inner-10' metric. Chinese shooters accumulated 70 'inner-10s', while Indonesia had 57.

Statistics also reflect India's history. In the individual qualification round, Muhammad Iqbal Raja Probowo from Indonesia posted an impressive score of 589 points, beating the second-placed Chinese shooter by six points. For India, the picture was reversed: Kamaljit stopped just short of the final, Bhardwaj also failed to qualify, and Kedaring could not lead the team to bronze due to declining scores.

It is precisely here in sports like shooting that simply looking at the medal table is insufficient. A one-point difference separates qualifying for the final from not qualifying, and a three-point difference separates a medal from fourth place. The question arises: does India's preparation, strategy against pressure, and in-competition execution control system need any improvements?

Currently, Pierre Bouchon, the high-ranking director of sports achievements for India, has declined to provide an immediate analysis of the situation. In Indian shooting, data, video recordings, physiological data, sports science, and mental control are analyzed.