Asian Games 2026: India’s Medal Rush Continues as Athletics and Boxing Lead a Packed Day in Nagoya

India enjoyed another packed day of competition at the 2026 Asian Games, with athletics producing multiple medals, shooting adding another silver and boxing guaranteeing three more podium finishes.

The day featured a combination of established names delivering on the big stage, breakthrough performances and several close calls across sports. From the javelin runway to the boxing ring and the squash courts, India remained deeply involved in the medal race. The biggest medal haul came from athletics, where Rohit Yadav, Sreeshankar Murali and Gulveer Singh won silver, while Vithya Ramraj and Parul Chaudhary added bronze medals.

The men's javelin final produced one of the day's most significant results for India. Rohit Yadav won silver with 84.35m, while Yashvir Singh claimed bronze with 85.72m, giving India two medals in the event. Sri Lanka's Rumesh Pathirage took gold with a huge 88.55m throw, improving his mark with his final attempt.

Yashvir saved his best for last as well, producing a personal best of 85.72m with his final throw. Rohit's 84.35m, which had briefly put him at the top of the standings, was ultimately enough for bronze. Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem finished fourth with 80.29m. The result was particularly notable with Neeraj Chopra absent from India's javelin team, but the country still secured two places on the podium.

Murali Sreeshankar added another Asian Games silver medal in the men's long jump. His second-round effort of 8.07m proved decisive after China’s Shi Yuhao won gold with a season-best 8.17m. Sreeshankar's competition took a difficult turn during his fourth attempt when he slipped at the board and landed heavily. He was visibly in pain and skipped his fifth and sixth attempts.

Despite being unable to continue, his 8.07m remained sufficient for second place. Uzbekistan's Anvar Anvarov finished third with 8.06m. Sreeshankar therefore followed his Hangzhou silver with another silver in Nagoya.

Gulveer Singh produced one of the day's more unusual performances for an Indian distance runner, winning silver in the men's 1500m. Gulveer clocked a personal best of 3:36.72, finishing behind Japan's Kazuto Iizawa, who won gold in a Games Record of 3:36.35. Gulveer took an aggressive approach to the race, moving wide and eventually taking the lead before Iizawa's finishing speed proved decisive.

Japan's Nagiya Mori won bronze in 3:37.92. Yoonus Shah, India's other finalist, finished ninth in 3:43.88.

Vithya breaks national record

The women's 400m hurdles produced another major Indian performance. Vithya Ramraj won bronze in 54.75 seconds, breaking the national record that she had jointly held with PT Usha.

Ramraj improved the mark by 0.67 seconds while securing her second consecutive Asian Games bronze in the event. The final was won by the UAE's Mariam Kareem in a Games Record of 54.31s, with Kazakhstan's Adelina Zems taking silver in 54.58s. India's Anu Raghavan also produced a personal best of 55.88s to finish fifth.

Parul Chaudhary continued India's strong showing in distance events by winning bronze in the women's 5000m final. The medal adds to her already successful Asian Games campaign and gives India another podium finish in athletics. Meanwhile, Avinash Sable narrowly missed the podium, finishing fourth in the men's 3000m steeplechase.

Seema also finished fourth in the women's discus throw, with Sanya Yadav taking eighth. Santhosh Kumar Tamilarasan finished seventh in the men's 400m hurdles, while Pooja advanced to the women's 800m final. India also qualified for the men's 4x400m relay final and reached the final of the mixed 4x100m relay. The women's 4x100m quartet of Abinaya Rajarajan, Tamanna, Sneha Sathyanarayana and Sudeshna Shivankar finished fourth.

Esha Singh secured another major medal for India in shooting, winning silver in the women's 25m pistol individual final. India's women's 25m pistol team of Manu Bhaker, Esha and Rahi Sarnobat had finished fifth in the team final, with all three qualifying for the individual final. Esha subsequently converted that opportunity into an individual silver.

Shooting also remained competitive in the trap events. Neeru led the women's trap qualification after Day 2, while Manisha Keer and Aashima Ahlawat were 21st and 23rd respectively. In the men's trap, Shapath Bharadwaj was fifth, with Kynan Chenai 19th and Ahvar Rizvi 32nd after two days.

India's boxing contingent continued its strong campaign by guaranteeing three additional medals. Kapil Pokhariya defeated South Korea's Kim Gichae in the men's 90kg quarterfinal to advance to the semifinals. Lovlina Borgohain also progressed after beating South Korea's Seong Suyeon 5-0 in the women's 75kg quarterfinal.

In the women's 60kg category, Priya defeated Tajikistan's Mijgona Samadova to book her place in the semifinals. All three victories guarantee India at least bronze medals.

India's team sports also produced convincing results. The men's squash team defeated South Korea 3-0 and China 3-0, while also recording another strong 3-0 victory against Japan in the pool stage. The women's squash team beat Japan 2-1 and China 3-0, maintaining their campaign. In men's hockey, India produced one of the day's biggest scorelines, defeating Bangladesh 10-0 in Pool A.

India's men's volleyball team also registered a straight-sets victory over Hong Kong, winning 3-0.

India had contrasting fortunes in women's compound archery. Chikitha Taniparthi defeated Bhutan's Dorji Dolma in the round of 32 before beating Chinese Taipei's Chen Yi-Hsuan in the round of 16 to reach the quarterfinals. However, reigning champion Jyothi Surekha Vennam was eliminated in the round of 16 after losing to South Korea's 14-year-old Kang Yeonseo.

In men's compound archery, Ganesh Mani Ratnam Thirumuru defeated Indonesia's Sostar Andaru Rinaldi and then India's Sahil Jadhav to reach the quarterfinals. Sahil had earlier defeated Mongolia's Jamiyangombo Purevdorj.

India's women's tennis doubles pair of Ankita Raina and Rutuja Bhosale lost to Anna Danilina and Yulia Putintseva. In sepaktakraw, India lost 1-2 to Japan in women's doubles and finished bottom of Group B, ending their campaign. Surfing saw Kishore Kumar Anbarasu defeat China's Ma Wensong in the men's shortboard round three, while Sivaraj Babu lost to the Philippines' Alciso Jayuard. In cricket, India's men's quarterfinal against Afghanistan was abandoned because of rain. India advanced to the semifinal by virtue of its higher seeding.

It was therefore another day of contrasting emotions for the Indian contingent: medals secured, finals reached, records broken and some campaigns brought to an end.

But with athletics, boxing, shooting, squash, hockey, archery and relay events all contributing, India continued to build momentum across the Asian Games programme.