Aichi: India’s Kumkum Mahod made history by clinching the first-ever women’s individual recurve gold medal in archery at the Asian Games, while also securing the LA 2028 Olympic quota. Meanwhile, Pranavi created history by becoming the first Indian woman to claim a gold medal in golf at the Asian Games, before adding another medal as the women’s golf team, alongside Aditi Ashok and Diksha Dagar, secured the silver. Neeraj Chauhan further strengthened India’s medal tally with a valuable bronze medal in the men’s individual recurve event in archery. Men’s cricket and men’s hockey also successfully defended their gold titles in spectacular fashion, with the cricket team sealing a thrilling 19-run victory over Pakistan, while the hockey team produced a commanding 5-1 triumph over Malaysia to retain their crown and secure the coveted LA 2028 Olympic quota. In a blockbuster 14-day campaign, India produced a stunning nine-medal haul on the final day and finished among the top four at the Asian Games 2026 on Saturday, October 3, in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.
The final day, featuring a spectacular haul of five gold, two silver, and two bronze medals, produced a memorable finish as India climbed from fifth to fourth position on the medal table. India remarkably concluded their Asian Games 2026 campaign in Aichi-Nagoya with an impressive 85 medals, including 21 gold, 27 silver, and 37 bronze.
Cricket
The men’s cricket team successfully defended their title with a thrilling 19-run victory over Pakistan. Batting first, India posted a formidable 211/6, with Abhishek Sharma setting the tone with an explosive and aggressive display. India raced to an impressive 81/2 in the powerplay, as Abhishek smashed a blistering 61 off just 28 balls, including seven sixes and three boundaries. Abhishek’s seven sixes put him joint-top for the most sixes by an Indian batter in an India-Pakistan T20I innings, alongside Yuvraj Singh. The innings further enhanced Abhishek’s remarkable six-hitting record in T20 cricket. He has now struck 104 sixes in T20 cricket in 2026, the most by an Indian batter in a calendar year. India briefly lost momentum in the middle order following the dismissals of Sanju Samson (2 off 4), Shreyas Iyer (21 off 24), and Ishan Kishan (20 off 18). However, Tilak Varma and Shivam Dube produced a superb 62-run partnership off just 31 balls, accelerating India’s scoring rate.
Tilak Varma finished in fluent fashion with a superb 51* off 22 balls, while Dube contributed a valuable 27 off 15 balls. Their attacking partnership propelled India beyond the 200-run mark and helped them finish with a formidable 211/6.Chasing a daunting target, Pakistan mounted a determined fightback, led by an impressive 96 off 51 balls from Asan Nawaz. His steady partnership with Saim Ayub, who contributed 29, posed a significant threat and placed India’s bowling attack under pressure before Shivam Dube broke the crucial partnership. India’s bowlers responded brilliantly under pressure and maintained control during the crucial stages of the chase. Axar Patel claimed two wickets, while Dube and Washington Sundar also picked up two wickets each. India eventually restricted Pakistan to 192/6, sealing a thrilling and memorable 19-run victory to successfully defend their gold medal.
Hockey
The men’s hockey team successfully defended their title as they produced a commanding 5-1 victory over Malaysia. Captain Harmanpreet Singh led the team with two goals, while Jugraj Singh, Hardik Singh, and Shilanand Lakra also found the net, as Malaysia managed only one goal. India’s dominant performance secured another glorious gold medal.
The victory remarkably marked the men’s team’s fifth Asian Games gold, following their triumphs in 1966, 1998, 2014, and 2023. With their consecutive gold-medal triumph, India became the second country after Pakistan to achieve this feat. With the gold medal, India also secured the LA 2028 Olympic quota. Harmanpreet Singh scored 12 goals to finish as the tournament’s top scorer, becoming the first Indian men’s captain to lead the team to two Asian Games gold medals. The victory also marked a remarkable achievement, as both the men’s and women’s hockey teams finished with gold at the same Asian Games. Cricket and kabaddi also completed the double podium with gold-medal glory at the same Asian Games.
Golf
Pranavi Urs clinched the gold medal in the women’s individual stroke play, becoming the first-ever Indian woman to win an Asian Games gold medal in golf. She held her nerve on the 18th hole with a par to finish at 15-under 265, finishing one shot ahead to claim the gold over Singapore’s Shannon Xuan Yin Tan and China’s Yin Ruoning, who shared the same score and jointly claimed the silver. It was also India’s fourth gold medal in golf.
In the women’s individual event, Aditi Ashok finished 14th at 2-over 282, while Diksha Dagar tied for 23rd at 12-over 292. The women’s team of Pranavi Urs, Aditi Ashok, and Diksha Dagar then secured the silver medal, continuing India’s impressive and memorable golf campaign.
In the men’s individual events, Veer Ahlawat and Saptak Talwar finished tied for sixth at 9-under 271, while Yuvraj Sandhu finished tied for 24th at 1-over 281. Joohyung Kim claimed the gold.
The men’s golf team of Saptak Talwar, Yuvraj Sandhu, and Veer Ahlawat finished sixth with a combined score of 18-under 542. China won the gold with 28-under 532, South Korea claimed silver with 26-under 534, and Japan secured bronze with 23-under 537.
Archery
Kumkum Mahod won a historic gold medal in the individual recurve event at the Asian Games after defeating South Korea’s Oh Ye-jin in an intense final. With just one arrow remaining, she stunningly sealed the glory with a 10, while Ye-jin managed an 8. With the memorable victory, Kumkum secured the LA 2028 Olympic quota for their respective NOCs by booking a place in the final.
Meanwhile, Neeraj Chauhan successfully claimed the bronze medal in the men’s individual recurve after defeating Dhiraj Bommadevara 6-4. He fought back brilliantly from 2-4 down to win the deciding set. With this achievement, he became only the second Indian male archer to win an individual recurve medal at the Asian Games.
Wrestling
Wrestling produced a strong and memorable performance, with India winning three medals. Aman Sehrawat clinched the golden glory in the men’s freestyle 57kg event after defeating North Korea’s Han Chong-song 11-7, adding another major gold to his collection following his bronze medal at the 2023 Asian Games. It was India’s second wrestling gold medal of the Asian Games after the previous day’s triumph.
Meanwhile, Antim Panghal claimed the silver after losing 1-9 to Japan’s Mei Miyooka in the women’s 53kg category, while Deepak Punia won the bronze after defeating Mongolia’s Gankhuyag Ganbaatar 2-1 in the men’s 97kg category.
Sagar Jaglan suffered a defeat against Nurkzha Kaipanov of Kazakhstan in the freestyle 74kg bronze-medal bout. In the women’s 57kg category, Manisha produced a strong performance by defeating South Korea’s Kwon Young-jin 8-0 in the pre-quarterfinal, but she lost in the quarterfinal to 2024 Olympic gold medallist Akari Fujinami of Japan by 0-3. India ended the wrestling campaign with two gold, two silver, and two bronze medals.
Taekwondo
Kashish Malik suffered a Round-of-16 defeat, losing 2-0 (18-3, 17-2) to Olympic champion Kim Yu-jin of South Korea in the women’s 57kg category. Meanwhile, Jyoti Yadav also bowed out in the Round of 16, going down 2-0 (15-4, 14-2) to Thailand’s Kannaluck Chuenchomklin in the women’s +67kg category, bringing India’s taekwondo campaign to an end.
Rugby
In rugby sevens, the Indian women’s team finished in sixth place after suffering a 20-0 defeat to Kazakhstan in the fifth-place classification match.
Sailing
The 16-year-old Mahi Verma finished in eighth position overall in the girls’ dinghy after 12 races, collecting 57 net points and 75 total points. Cheung Tsz-yuet of Hong Kong won the gold, Ma Kwan-ching of Hong Kong claimed the silver, and Chanatkan Charoensuk of Thailand secured the bronze. Katya Coelho completed races 11, 12, and 13 in the women’s windsurfing (iQFOiL) class to finish seventh overall. Cheung Tsz-yuet of Hong Kong won the gold, Ma Kwan-ching of Hong Kong took the silver, and Chanatkan Charoensuk of Thailand claimed the bronze.
Volleyball
The Indian team finished in sixth place after losing 3-2 to Thailand in the classification match. Iran won the gold after defeating Japan 3-1 (28-26, 19-25, 25-21, 26-24), while Japan claimed the silver after losing 1-3 to Iran. Pakistan secured the bronze after defeating China 3-0. India ended their campaign in fourth place to conclude their Asian Games 2026 journey in Aichi-Nagoya.
India ended their campaign in fourth place, bringing their Asian Games 2026 journey in Aichi-Nagoya to a memorable and impressive conclusion.
