Asian Games 2026 Day Review: India’s Double Kabaddi Gold, Historic Squash Finals and a Day of Silver Medals

India produced another packed day of strong performances at the Asian Games, with two gold medals in kabaddi, silver medals in the men’s marathon and shot put, and a bronze in squash among the major highlights.

The day also brought historic moments in squash, with Anahat Singh and Abhay Singh both reaching their respective singles finals, while Indian athletes continued to make their presence felt across track and field. There were also several important badminton victories, although Lakshya Sen and Ayush Shetty exited their respective events.

The biggest highlight came from kabaddi, where India completed a remarkable double. The Indian men’s team defeated Iran 40-34 in the final to win the gold medal. The victory continued India’s strong record in the sport at the Asian Games and added another title to the country’s medal tally.

The women followed with an equally impressive performance, defeating Iran 37-34 in a closely contested final. The result gave India gold in both men’s and women’s kabaddi, making it one of the standout days of the campaign. Both teams had entered the finals after strong semifinal performances, and they delivered when the medals were at stake.

Sawan Barwal Breaks National Record for Marathon Silver

Athletics delivered one of the day’s most significant performances as Sawan Barwal won silver in the men’s marathon, clocking 2:11:37, a new national record. Japan’s Ichitaka Yamashita won gold in 2:10:49, while China’s Feng Peiyou took bronze in 2:12:13. Barwal spent large portions of the race at the front and remained firmly in medal contention deep into the contest. His silver medal is particularly significant as he became the first Indian man to win an Asian Games marathon medal outside India, ending a 44-year wait for an Indian men’s marathon medal at the Games.

It was another major addition to India’s athletics medal haul.

India also secured silver in the men’s shot put through Tajinderpal Singh Toor. Toor produced a best throw of 20.64m to finish second, while Iran’s Mohammadreza Tayebi won gold with a Games Record of 20.81m. Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed Tolu took bronze with 20.48m.

Toor’s medal came after a difficult start. He initially managed 20.26m and struggled to produce a throw beyond 20 metres in his next attempts before delivering 20.64m in the fifth round to move into the silver-medal position. Karanveer Singh finished 10th with 18.40m.

Squash produced two of India’s biggest individual breakthroughs. Anahat Singh reached the women’s singles final after defeating Japan’s Satomi Watanabe 3-2 in a dramatic semifinal. Anahat had to fight through a demanding contest before completing the comeback and securing her place in the gold-medal match.

The result puts her one victory away from an Asian Games singles gold medal and represents a major moment for Indian women’s squash. There was an equally significant result in the men’s event. Abhay Singh defeated Pakistan’s Muhammad Irfan 3-0 in the semifinal to reach the men’s singles final. Abhay's victory means India will have representatives in both squash singles finals, a major achievement for the country.

Earlier, Joshna Chinappa and Velavan Senthilkumar won the mixed doubles bronze after losing their semifinal against Hong Kong’s Tang Ming Hong and Lee Ka Yi.

India also won bronze in the women’s 400m, with Prachi finishing third in the final. Kiran Pahal finished fifth, while Vishal TK came fifth in the men’s 400m final.

In the men’s 200m, Animesh Kujur continued his impressive campaign, finishing second in his semifinal to qualify for the final. Earlier, he had topped his heat. The women’s 200m also produced a double Indian qualification. Harita Bhadra and Unnathi Bolland finished second and third respectively in their heats, earning places in the final.

In the men’s 1500m, Yoonus Shah and Gulveer Singh both finished third in their respective heats and advanced.

Tejaswin Shankar Leads Decathlon Challenge

In the decathlon, Tejaswin Shankar produced a strong opening day, winning the long jump with 7.53m and is  leading overall on 4338 points after the first five events. Thowfeeq Noushad also produced a strong long jump of 7.37m and stood eighth overall on 3676 points at the end of day.

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India had contrasting results in badminton. PV Sindhu defeated Chiu Pin-chian of Chinese Taipei in the women’s singles second round, while Unnati Hooda beat Wong Ling Ching of Malaysia and then PK Wardani, advancing to the quarterfinals. Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand also progressed after defeating Japan’s Mayu Matsumoto and Yuki Fukushima in the women’s doubles second round.

However, Lakshya Sen lost to Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew 12-21, 21-15, 14-21, while Ayush Shetty was eliminated by Chou Tien-Chen after a three-game contest. Earlier, Ayush had defeated Kazakhstan’s Makhsut Tajibullayev.

India’s men’s hockey team defeated Japan 2-0 in their Pool A match, while boxer Priya defeated South Korea’s Oh Yeonji in the women’s 60kg round of 16. Kapil Pokhariya defeated Iran’s Sam Estaki in the men’s 90kg round of 16 to enter the quarterfinals. Jadumani Singh, however, lost to the Philippines’ Carlo Paalam in the men’s 55kg. In fencing, India reached the women’s foil and men’s sabre quarterfinals before losing to Japan and South Korea respectively.

In archery, Dhiraj Bommadevara topped men’s recurve qualification with 698, setting Asian and National Records, while Chikitha Taniparthi topped the women’s compound qualification with 705. India finished second in both corresponding team qualification standings.

From double gold in kabaddi to Sawan Barwal’s national-record marathon silver, Tajinderpal’s shot-put silver and historic squash singles finals, India had another eventful day at the Asian Games. The medal-winning performances were complemented by progress in badminton, boxing, hockey, archery and athletics. With Anahat Singh and Abhay Singh now carrying India’s hopes in two squash finals and Animesh Kujur through to the 200m final, the momentum continues into the next day.

It was a day that combined established champions, breakthrough performances and several emerging Indian contenders — adding another significant chapter to India’s Asian Games campaign.