Aichi: India’s athletics led the medal charge once again as Yash Vir Singh clinched silver and Rohit Yadav secured bronze, as India secured an impressive double-podium finish in the men’s javelin throw. Meanwhile, Vithya Ramraj created history with a stunning record-breaking performance, breaking PT Usha’s 42-year-old national record and securing bronze in the women’s 400m hurdles. India also secured a silver medal in the mixed 4x400m relay. Gulveer Singh claimed the silver medal in the men’s 1500m to add his second medal of these Asian Games, while Parul Chaudhary added bronze in the women’s 5000m. Murali Sreeshankar claimed silver in the men’s long jump. Esha Singh claimed silver in the women’s 25m pistol in shooting, while Pinky Balhara clinched bronze in the women’s 78kg category in Kurash, securing her second Asian Games medal. With four silver and four bronze medals, India added a strong haul of eight medals on the day as the country enjoyed a successful Day 9 of the Asian Games 2026 on Sunday, September 28, in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.
India remained 12th in the medal table after Day 9 with 45 medals, including four gold, 20 silver and 21 bronze. India continued its medal campaign across athletics, shooting and Kurash, while the men’s cricket team advanced to the semi-finals after their quarter-final against Afghanistan was called off due to rain.Meanwhile, in boxing, all three Indian boxers in action today — Priya Ghanghas, Lovlina Borgohain and Kapil Pokhariya — successfully assured three more medals for India.
Surfing
India’s Sivaraj Babu exited the men’s shortboard event in Round 3 after losing 11.50–7.83 to Jayuard Alciso of the Philippines. Meanwhile, Kishore Kumar advanced to the quarter-finals with a convincing 9.76–8.80 victory over China’s Ma Wensong. He will face the Philippines’ Toby Espejon in the last eight tomorrow.
In the women’s shortboard, Kamali Prakash produced a composed performance across three rounds, including a Round 2 heat victory with a score of 7.57. However, her campaign ended in Round 3 against Indonesia’s Jasmine Michelle Studer, who posted 11.64 to Kamali’s 5.93.
Sugar Shanti Gayen also secured a top-16 finish. After progressing through the opening two rounds, including a 7.33 heat-winning score in Round 2, she was eliminated in Round 3 by Japan’s Minami Nonaka, who recorded 14.60 against Sugar Shanti’s 5.17.
Archery
India’s Chikitha Taniparthi and Ganesh Mani Ratnam Thirumuru advanced to the quarter-finals in the compound individual events, while Jyothi Surekha Vennam and Sahil Jadhav were eliminated in the pre-quarterfinals.
In the men’s compound individual event, Ganesh Mani Ratnam Thirumuru defeated Indonesia’s Sostar Andaru Rinaldi 144–142 in the Round of 32 before edging compatriot Sahil Jadhav 149–148 in the Round of 16 to book his place in the quarter-finals. Ganesh will face Chinese Taipei’s Chen Chieh-lun on October 1.
Sahil Jadhav had earlier defeated Mongolia’s Jamiyangombo Purevdorj 149–137 in the Round of 32, but his campaign came to an end following a narrow 149–148 defeat to compatriot Ganesh in the Round of 16.
In the women’s compound individual event, Chikitha Taniparthi defeated Bhutan’s Dorji Dolma 149–140 in the Round of 32. She then drew 148–148 against Chinese Taipei’s Chen Yi-Hsuan in the Round of 16. Chikitha prevailed in the shoot-off after her arrow landed closer to the centre, booking her place in the quarter-finals. She will face Chen Chieh-lun of Chinese Taipei on October 1.
Jyothi Surekha Vennam defeated Kazakhstan’s Adel Zhexenbinova 148–145 in the Round of 32 but lost to South Korea’s teenage prodigy Kang Yeonseo 150–146 in the Round of 16. Jyothi, who won the women’s individual compound gold medal at Hangzhou 2023, was therefore knocked out in the pre-quarterfinals.
Shooting
India endured mixed results in shooting. Esha Singh claimed the silver medal in the women’s individual 25m pistol after qualifying for the final in eighth place with 580-22x. In a dramatic final, she survived several elimination shoot-offs before eventually tying China’s Xiao Jiaruixuan at 38 hits, matching the Asian Games record. In the final golden shoot-off, Esha narrowly lost 3–2 but secured the silver medal. This was her third Asian Games medal after winning two silver medals at Hangzhou 2023.
The two-time Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker ended her Asian Games campaign without a medal after finishing 11th in qualification with 579-18x, missing the eight-athlete individual final by just one point. She had earlier finished fifth in the 10m air pistol final with 181.1 points, while India also finished fourth in the 10m air pistol team event. Rahi finished 30th with 568-16x. In the 25m pistol team event, India finished fifth with 1727-56x. India’s medal hopes took a blow during the rapid-fire stage when one of Rahi’s opening shots hit the frame and was recorded as zero, leaving the team outside the podium positions.
In the women’s trap, Neeru Dhanda produced an excellent qualification performance, leading the field after four rounds with 95/100 hits. Manisha Keer and Aashima Ahlawat were 21st and 23rd respectively, both with 84 hits. India were third in the team standings, keeping them firmly in medal contention. Shapath Bharadwaj delivered a perfect 50/50 on Day 2 to move into fifth place with 95/100 overall. Kynan Chenai was 19th with 91/100 after scoring 44 on Day 2, while Ahvar Rizvi was 32nd with 87/100 after hitting 46 targets. India were fifth in the team standings heading into the final qualification day.
Sepaktakraw
India’s women’s doubles campaign came to an end without a win as the Indian pair suffered a 2–1 (15–11, 9–15, 15–13) defeat to Japan in their final Group B match. India had earlier lost to the Philippines and South Korea, finishing at the bottom of the group.
Tennis
Sumit Nagal, seeded seventh, was scheduled to face South Korea’s Hong Seong-chan in the men’s singles Round of 32, but the match was postponed due to rain and schedule delays and moved to the next day. Nagal was leading 3–2 in the first set against Hong Seong-chan. Dhakshineswar Suresh is seeded 11th.
In women’s doubles, eighth seeds Ankita Raina and Rutuja Bhosale suffered a first-round defeat against Anna Danilina and Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan, bringing India’s women’s doubles campaign to an end. In men’s doubles, India has two seeded pairs: top seeds Anirudh Chandrasekar and N Sriram Balaji, and fifth seeds Yuki Bhambri and Dhakshineswar Suresh. In mixed doubles, Yuki Bhambri and Rutuja Bhosale are the second seeds, while Ankita Raina and N Sriram Balaji are seeded fourth.
Volleyball
India comfortably won the second set 25–19 against Hong Kong China to move 2–0 ahead in their men’s Pool C match. The Indian team were then one set away from making it two wins from two after beating Vietnam in yesterday’s opener. India completed a 3–0 (25–22, 25–19, 25–21) victory over Hong Kong China to make it two wins from two in Pool C. They had earlier beaten Vietnam in their opening match and will face Qatar tomorrow in a crucial contest that will decide the Pool C toppers.
Squash
India’s squash teams produced strong performances as both the women’s and men’s teams advanced to the quarter-finals.
India began their women’s team squash campaign with a 2–1 victory over China in Group C. Shameena Riaz opened the tie against Yin Ziyuan but suffered a narrow 3–2 defeat (8–11, 6–11, 11–9, 11–9, 14–12), despite taking an early two-game lead.Tanvi Khanna then levelled the tie for India with a comfortable 3–0 (11–3, 11–5, 11–5) victory over Zhang Yuning. Joshna Chinappa completed the comeback with a convincing 3–0 (12–10, 11–4, 11–6) win over Liu Ziyi, securing a 2–1 victory for India over China.
India then faced Japan in their second women’s team Pool C tie. Joshna Chinappa gave India a strong start with a dominant 3–0 (11–1, 11–8, 11–9) victory over Japan’s Erisa Sano. Anahat Singh followed against Satomi Watanabe in a rematch of their women’s singles final. Anahat, who had clinched the singles title after a stunning comeback, this time went down 2–3 to Watanabe in a fiercely contested match, losing 8–11, 11–8, 11–7, 8–11, 9–11. The result levelled the team tie at 1–1. With the tie resting on the final match, Tanvi Khanna stepped up against Akari Midorikawa and delivered under pressure, securing a 3–1 (12–10, 11–9, 4–11, 12–10) victory. Her win sealed India’s 2–1 victory over Japan and secured the team’s place in the quarter-finals.
India also made a strong start to their men’s team campaign with a dominant 3–0 victory over China in Pool A. Suraj Kumar Chand gave India the lead with a 3–0 (11–4, 11–2, 12–10) win over Du Shaoqian. Veer Chotrani then defeated Li Haizhen 3–0 (11–5, 11–5, 11–3) to put India 2–0 ahead in the tie. Velavan Senthilkumar completed the clean sweep with a 3–0 (11–3, 11–2, 11–4) victory over Penglin Zhou. Abhay Singh was rested for the opening tie after competing in the previous day’s men’s singles final, where he claimed the silver medal. India subsequently recorded another convincing 3–0 victory over South Korea in their next Pool A match. The result saw India top Pool A and advance to the quarter-finals.
Kurash
India’s Pinky Balhara clinched bronze in the women’s 78kg category after suffering a 0–5 defeat to South Korea’s Sumin Mo in the semi-final. Before reaching the semi-final, Balhara successfully defeated South Korea’s Gram Lim with a commanding 3–0 victory. She added her second Asian Games medal after winning the 52kg category at the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games, where she made her debut. With her bronze medal, India secured its third Kurash medal in Asian Games history.
Cricket
India’s men’s cricket team advanced to the semi-finals of the 2026 Asian Games without taking the field, after rain forced their quarter-final against Afghanistan to be abandoned in Nisshin, Japan. India will now face the winner of the Sri Lanka–Nepal quarter-final in the semi-finals as they continue their bid to retain the gold medal they won at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou.
Boxing
India’s Kapil Pokhariya assured the country of a medal after defeating South Korea’s Kim Gichae 5–0 by unanimous decision in the men’s 90kg quarter-finals. With a composed performance, Pokhariya booked his place in the semi-finals, where he will face Uzbekistan’s world champion Turabek Khabibullaev.
Priya Ghanghas also assured India of another boxing medal after producing a commanding 5–0 victory over Tajikistan’s Olympian Mijgona Samadova in the women’s 60kg quarter-finals. Her victory earned her a place in the semi-finals and added another medal opportunity to India’s campaign.
Olympic medallist Lovlina Borgohain continued India’s strong showing in the ring, defeating South Korea’s Suyeon Seong 5–0 in the women’s 75kg quarter-finals to secure another medal and advance to the semi-finals.
Hockey
India’s men’s hockey team wrapped up their Pool A campaign in emphatic fashion with a commanding 10–0 victory over Bangladesh. The result gave India five wins from five matches and maintained their impressive run in the tournament. Abhishek (3’), Jugraj Singh (22’), skipper Harmanpreet Singh (27’, 40’, 45’), Sukhjeet Singh (32’), Shilanand Lakra (44’, 45’), Sanjay (59’) and Mandeep Singh (60’) found the net for India in a dominant performance. India will now face arch-rivals Pakistan in a highly anticipated semi-final clash on Thursday.
Athletics
Another day, another strong medal haul for India in athletics. Vithya Ramraj created history by breaking the 42-year-old national record that belonged to PT Usha since August 1984. She produced a stunning performance with a personal best of 54.75 seconds to win the bronze medal in the women’s 400m hurdles final. Earlier, at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, she clocked 55.42 seconds and claimed a bronze medal while equalling PT Usha’s record. Anu Raghavan finished fifth with a personal best of 55.88 seconds. Mariam Kareem of the UAE won gold, while Kazakhstan’s Adelina Zems took silver in the women’s 400m hurdles.
India secured a successful double podium in the men’s javelin throw as Yash Vir Singh won silver with a personal best of 85.72m on his final throw, while Rohit Yadav took bronze with 84.35m. Sri Lanka’s world leader Rumesh Pathirage, who had taken the lead for the season with an 88.33m effort on his fourth attempt, improved to 88.55m with his final throw to seal gold.
Murali Sreeshankar achieved silver in the men’s long jump with a best effort of 8.07m. He suffered an injury during his fourth attempt and had to skip his final two jumps. China’s Shi Yuhao won gold with a season-best 8.17m, while Uzbekistan’s Anvar Anvarov took bronze with 8.06m. India’s David Patturaj Solomon finished seventh with 7.70m.
India’s Gulveer Singh won silver in the men’s 1500m final with a personal-best time of 3:36.72, adding a second medal to his Aichi-Nagoya campaign after his 10,000m silver earlier. Japan’s Kazuto Iizawa won gold in 3:36.35, while compatriot Nagiya Mori took bronze in 3:37.92. India’s Yoonus Shah finished ninth in 3:43.88. Gulveer, who now has three Asian Games medals, including his 10,000m bronze from the previous edition, will return to the track once again for the men’s 5000m tomorrow.
Olympian Parul Chaudhary won the bronze medal in the women’s 5000m, finishing third after clocking 15:14.61. Winfred Yavi of Bahrain won gold in 15:10.18, while Japan’s Nozomi Tanaka took silver in 15:11.65. It is Parul’s second medal at Aichi-Nagoya after her 3000m steeplechase bronze yesterday and her fourth at the Asian Games overall. India’s Seema finished sixth after clocking 15:35.06.
India’s mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Gurindervir Singh, Abinaya Rajarajan, Animesh Kujur and Harita Bhadra qualified for the final after finishing second in their heat in 41.54 seconds. They finished third overall across the heats and will feature in tomorrow’s final.
India’s Seema Kaliramna is currently third in the women’s discus throw final after three attempts, with a best effort of 58.40m on her second attempt. Sanya Yadav is seventh with a best effort of 49.90m.
India’s Dharamveer Choudhary, Rajesh Ramesh, Manu TS and Jay Kumar qualified for the men’s 4x400m relay final with a time of 3:01.49, the fastest time across the heats. The 4x400m relay final will take place tomorrow.
India’s Avinash Sable finished fourth in the men’s 3000m steeplechase final, clocking a season-best 8:21.67 on his recent return from injury. He was the defending champion in the event from Hangzhou 2023 and missed out on the final podium spot by more than three seconds.
In the women’s 4x100m relay final, India finished fourth in 43.57 seconds. In the women’s 800m Round 1, Gowthami Jayaraman finished fourth in Heat 1 with a time of 2:04.31. In the men’s 400m hurdles final, Santhosh Kumar Tamilarasan finished seventh in 49.95 seconds.
