Asian Games 2026 Day 3: India Eye Gold in Cricket, Shooting and Wushu as Japan Awaits in Badminton

India’s campaign at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026 enters an important third day on Tuesday, September 22, with a packed schedule featuring several medal opportunities across the day.

The focus will be firmly on shooting, cricket, wushu, and badminton, with India competing for gold in multiple events. The Indian men’s badminton team faces hosts Japan in a quarterfinal that carries a guaranteed medal at stake, while the women’s cricket team takes on Sri Lanka in the gold-medal match.

There will also be medal opportunities in shooting, fencing, karate and wushu, alongside group-stage action in kabaddi, hockey, soft tennis, sepak takraw, table tennis and e-sports.

One of the biggest early starts comes in shooting, where India will compete in the 10m air rifle mixed team qualification before a potential final later in the morning. Parth Mane and Elavenil Valarivan will represent India in the event.

Cricket and badminton headline the day

The biggest team-sport fixtures come later in the morning.

India’s women’s cricket team will face Sri Lanka at 10:30 AM IST in the gold-medal match. India are the defending Asian Games champions and enter the final after emphatic victories over Japan and Bangladesh.

The men’s badminton team will also be chasing a place in the semifinals when they face Japan at 11:30 AM IST.

India swept Bangladesh 3-0 in the Round of 16, with Lakshya Sen, Asian Games debutant Ayush Shetty and Kidambi Srikanth all winning their singles matches. Japan represents a much tougher challenge, but victory would guarantee India a medal.

The day begins with several shooting events. The 10m air rifle mixed team qualification starts at 6:15 AM IST, with Parth Mane and Elavenil Valarivan representing India. If they qualify, the mixed team final is scheduled for 8:25 AM IST.

India will also have athletes competing in the men's and women's skeet qualification. Anantjeet Singh Naruka, Bhavtegh Singh Gill and Mairaj Ahmed Khan will continue in the men's event, while Maheshwari Chauhan, Parinaaz Dhaliwal and Raiza Dhillon compete in women's skeet.

The morning could therefore produce another medal opportunity for India's shooting contingent.

Wushu provides another major medal opportunity. Hanjabam Langlentombi Devi competes in the women's Nanquan and Nandao events, with the final scheduled for 11:29 AM IST. Later in the afternoon, Naorem Roshibina Devi will compete in the women's 60kg quarterfinal against Macau, while Aryan takes on Uzbekistan in the men's 56kg quarterfinal.

India will also have medal ambitions in karate and fencing. Chetan Bhatt competes in the men's Kumite 84kg category, while Alisha is in action in the women's 55kg Kumite. Both events have medal-stage implications.

In fencing, Sachin and Hemash Singh Sasam will compete in the men's foil individual event, while Tanishka Khatri and Prachi Lohan are in the women's epee individual event.

India’s men’s kabaddi team will face Korea at 7:15 AM IST in Group A. The defending champions opened their campaign with a dominant 49-24 victory over Japan and will look to continue that momentum.

The Indian men’s hockey team will also be in action, facing Sri Lanka at 3:30 PM IST in Pool A.

Table tennis has several important matches scheduled. The Indian women’s team faces Thailand at 6:30 AM, while the men’s team takes on South Korea at 9:00 AM. Quarterfinal matches are scheduled later in the afternoon.

Swimming also continues, with Aryan Nehra competing in the men's 1500m final, while India’s men's 4x100m medley relay team is scheduled to compete in the heats at 8:05 AM, followed by a potential final at 2:55 PM.

Day 3 schedule in chronological order

Early morning

5:30 AM — E-Sports: India vs Uzbekistan, Football — Danial Patel, Chinmay Sahoo
5:30 AM — Sepak Takraw: India vs Malaysia, Men’s Regu Team — Group B
5:30 AM — Soft Tennis: Aadhya Tiwari vs Thailand — Women’s Singles, Group D
5:45 AM — Equestrian: Team & Individual Dressage — Fouaad Mirza, Arjan Singh, Ashish Limaye
6:00 AM — Badminton: India vs Japan — Women’s Team Quarterfinal
6:15 AM — Shooting: 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team Qualification — Parth Mane, Elavenil Valarivan
6:29 AM — Wushu: Women’s Nanquan and Nandao — Hanjabam Langlentombi Devi
6:30 AM — Shooting: Men’s Skeet Qualification — Anantjeet Singh Naruka, Bhavtegh Singh Gill, Mairaj Ahmed Khan
6:30 AM — Shooting: Women’s Skeet Qualification — Maheshwari Chauhan, Parinaaz Dhaliwal, Raiza Dhillon
6:30 AM — Fencing: Men’s Foil Individual Pools to Final — Sachin, Hemash Singh Sasam
7:00 AM — Soft Tennis: Jay Meena vs Pakistan — Men’s Singles, Group D
7:15 AM — Kabaddi: India vs Korea — Men’s Group A
7:29 AM — Swimming: Men’s 1500m Final B — Aryan Nehra
7:35 AM — Karate: Chetan Bhatt — Men’s Kumite 84kg
8:05 AM — Swimming: Men’s 4x100m Medley Relay Heat 2
8:15 AM — Fencing: Women’s Epee Individual Pools to Final — Tanishka Khatri, Prachi Lohan
8:25 AM — Shooting: 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team Final, subject to qualification
9:00 AM — Boxing: Sakshi — Women’s 51kg Round of 32
9:00 AM — Table Tennis: India vs South Korea — Men’s Team Round of 16
9:20 AM — Karate: Alisha — Women’s Kumite 55kg
9:30 AM — Equestrian: Eventing Team & Individual Cross Country
9:30 AM — Soft Tennis: Aryan Thakur vs Mongolia — Men’s Singles, Group C

Late morning

10:30 AM — Cricket: India vs Sri Lanka — Women’s Gold Medal Match
10:30 AM — Boxing: Jadumani — Men’s 55kg Round of 32
10:30 AM — Soft Tennis: Aadhya Tiwari vs Pakistan — Women’s Singles
11:29 AM — Wushu: Women’s Nanquan and Nandao Final — Hanjabam Langlentombi Devi
11:30 AM — Badminton: India vs Japan — Men’s Team Quarterfinal
12:00 PM — Soft Tennis: Aryan Thakur vs Chinese Taipei — Men’s Singles

Afternoon

12:40 PM — Karate: Men’s Kumite 84kg Final, subject to qualification
12:50 PM — Karate: Women’s Kumite 55kg Final, subject to qualification
2:00 PM — E-Sports: India vs Mongolia — Football
2:55 PM — Swimming: Men’s 4x100m Medley Relay Final, subject to qualification
3:15 PM — Wushu: Roshibina Devi — Women’s 60kg Quarterfinal vs Macau
3:30 PM — Hockey: India vs Sri Lanka — Men’s Pool A
3:45 PM — Wushu: Aryan — Men’s 56kg Quarterfinal vs Uzbekistan
3:50 PM — Table Tennis: Men’s Team Quarterfinal
3:50 PM — Table Tennis: Women’s Team Quarterfinal

Note: The schedule may be affected by weather conditions, including the potential impact of the typhoon.