Live Blog | India at Asian Games 2026 | 21 Sep

India maintained their unbeaten start in the women’s hockey competition with a commanding 17-1 victory over Indonesia. Rutuja Pisal, Navneet Kaur and Deepika all completed hat-tricks, while Sakshi added her second goal of the match in the 57th minute after a brief video review confirmed the goal.

Navneet then found the net again to complete her hat-trick, making her the third Indian player to score three goals in the match. Meanwhile, Savita Punia marked the occasion with a new national record, becoming India’s most-capped women’s hockey player with her 321st international appearance.

Savita Punia has etched her name in the history of Indian women’s hockey, making her 321st international appearance against Indonesia. The veteran goalkeeper has now surpassed Vandana Katariya, who previously held the record with 320 international appearances.

On the field, India continue to dominate, with Deepika and Rutuja Pisal completing their hat-tricks as India lead Indonesia 14-1 at the end of the third quarter.

India have made a strong start to their Group A campaign, defeating Japan 49-24 in their opening men’s kabaddi match. The defending champions were in control from the outset and never allowed Japan to mount a serious comeback.

The victory also keeps India’s unbeaten Asian Games record against Japan intact.

India have produced a dominant first half against Indonesia, heading into the break with a 9-0 advantage. Deepika opened the scoring with a penalty-corner conversion in the eighth minute, before Sunelita Toppo struck twice in the 11th and 30th minutes.

India have also found the net through Rutuja Pisal, Lalremsiami and Sakshi, with goals coming from both open play and penalty corners.

A thoroughly commanding opening half from India.

India are firmly in control of their men’s Group A opener, heading into the break with a 31-9 lead over hosts Japan at Tokai Gymnasium. The defending champions have dominated the opening half, with debutants Ayan and Devank making an immediate impact. Ashu Malik has also contributed with important points as India build a huge advantage.

Japan now face a massive task in the second half.

India have made a flying start against Indonesia in their Pool B encounter, taking a commanding 4-0 lead into the first quarter break. The goals have been shared among four different players, with Deepika, Lalremsiami, Sunelita Toppo and Rutuja Pisal all finding the net.

A dominant opening quarter from Sjoerd Marijne’s side.

Himanshu Dhillon has secured the silver medal in the men’s 10m air rifle final after a thrilling battle with China’s Sheng Lihao. With two shots remaining, Sheng held a 2.0-point lead. Himanshu responded with a 10.8, while Sheng posted 10.6, cutting the gap to 1.8.

The final shot saw both shooters record 10.6, leaving Himanshu with a total of 252.4 and the silver medal.

Sheng finishes on 254.2, setting a new Games Record and successfully defending his gold medal.

Rudrankksh Patil has secured the bronze medal in the men’s 10m air rifle final after a dramatic finish. A 9.7 from Rudrankksh saw him slip to third, while Himanshu Dhillon remained in the medal positions. Rudrankksh responded with a 10.6 on the elimination shot, but Himanshu also produced a 10.4, keeping the gap between the two Indians intact.

Sheng Lihao also shot 10.4 in the decisive exchange.

Rudrankksh finishes with a total of 230.9 and takes bronze, while India have two shooters on the podium in the final.

Another tight exchange at the top. Sheng Lihao fires a 10.7, while Himanshu Dhillon scores 10.5 and Rudrankksh Patil adds 10.4.

That moves Himanshu into second place outright, now 0.1 ahead of Rudrankksh and 0.4 behind Sheng. With the leading trio separated by just fractions, the battle for the medals remains wide open.

A crucial exchange in the men’s 10m air rifle final has changed the standings. Rudrankksh Patil managed 10.2, while Sheng Lihao responded with 10.1. Himanshu Dhillon produced a superb 10.9 to move back into second.

After the latest shots, Sheng has taken the lead with 168.8, while Rudrankksh and Himanshu are joint-second, just 0.2 points behind.

With one more shot remaining in this elimination stage, South Korea’s Shin Minki has been eliminated with 166.2.

The men’s 10m air rifle final is still underway, with India currently occupying the top two positions. Rudrankksh Patil leads the field with 158.4, while Himanshu Dhillon is just 0.1 points behind on 158.3. China’s Sheng Lihao is third at 158.1.

Rudrankksh’s series scores are 52.8 | 53.2 | 21.4 | 20.8 | 10.2, while Himanshu has posted 52.2 | 52.6 | 21.8 | 20.8 | 10.9.

The Indian pair are locked in a thrilling battle at the top as the final continues.

Sumit Kundu is through to the Round of 16 after a commanding performance against Thailand’s Sinsiri. The Indian boxer finished strongly, taking control in the final round and sealing a 5-0 victory on the judges’ scorecards.

Sumit had already won the second round, although the contest remained close on the overall cards at that stage, with two judges having the scores level.

He eventually settled the contest emphatically to give India a winning start in boxing.

Suchika Tariyal will return from the Asian Games with a bronze medal after her semifinal campaign ended in a closely fought contest against Singapore’s Hui Hoon Teo.

The bout went into overtime, with Teo eventually edging the Indian by the narrowest of margins.

It was a difficult moment for Suchika after the decision, but she can take pride in making history. MMA is making its Asian Games debut, and Suchika has become one of the sport’s first medallists at the Games.

India’s men’s regu team began the tie on a high, winning the opening fixture 2-0 (15-13, 15-9).

Japan, however, turned the contest around by taking the next two fixtures. The hosts won the second match 2-1 (15-12, 15-17, 15-11) before completing the comeback with a 2-0 (15-9, 15-12) victory in the third.

India will now face Malaysia in their next Group B match.

Aadhya Tiwari and Jay Meena have suffered their first defeat of the group stage, going down 1-5 to South Korea’s Park Jaekyu and Kim Yeon-Hwa. The result leaves the Indian pair second in the group, but they have done enough to advance to the Round of 16.

Their knockout campaign begins at 9:00 AM IST.

Japan have levelled the three-match contest at 1-1, edging India 2-1 in the second match. The hosts took the opening set 15-12, but India responded brilliantly in the second. After Japan moved close to victory, India fought back from 15-15 to take the next two points and win the set 17-15.

Japan, however, held their nerve in the decider, taking it 15-11 to force the series into a third and final match.

India may have lost this one, but their comeback in the second set showed plenty of fight. Everything now comes down to the decider.

The three-day Women’s Skeet qualification is underway, with India’s Raiza Dhillon making a perfect start. Raiza has hit all 25 targets from 25 shots so far, putting her at the top of the early standings.

Parinaaz Dhaliwal has also begun strongly, registering 23 hits from 23 attempts.

All three Indian shooters have completed their 60 shots. Rudrankksh Patil leads the Indian contingent with 631.8, currently sitting third and looking well placed to reach the individual final.

Himanshu Dhillon has finished on 630.0 and is currently seventh, although a few shooters around him are yet to complete their rounds, making his qualification position less certain. Parth Mane ends with 628.3 and is 11th at present. With only two shooters from each country allowed in the individual final, his chances of advancing are limited.

India’s combined team score stands at 1890.1, putting them in line for the team silver.

China lead the team standings with 1899, which is also a new World Record, improving their previous mark from November 2025 by 0.2 points.

Rudrankksh Patil has wrapped up his qualification round with a 631.8, putting him in third place and in a strong position to make the individual final. Himanshu Dhillon has also finished with 630.0, currently sitting sixth and looking well placed to advance.

Parth Mane, meanwhile, ends his six series with 628.3. He is currently 11th, leaving him outside the individual final. With only two shooters per country allowed in the final, Rudrankksh and Himanshu occupy India’s qualifying spots.

Syndrela Das has made a winning start to her Asian Games debut, putting India within touching distance of victory in the women’s team tie. She overcame Kalsoom Khan 11-6, 11-7, 11-5 to extend India’s lead to 2-0.

India now need just one more match win to seal the tie and secure their place in the quarterfinals.

Sheng Lihao has raised the benchmark in the men’s 10m air rifle qualification, finishing with a score of 635.4 to surpass his own Asian Games qualification record of 634.5, set at Hangzhou 2023.

India’s Rudrankksh Patil and Himanshu Dhillon have also moved up the standings, sitting third and fourth, respectively, after the qualification round.

India are now in contention for another team medal in shooting.

Japan have struck back in the second match, taking the opening set 15-12 against India.

With the regu format being best of three sets, India now need to win the next set to keep the match alive. After Akash’s standout performance in the opening match, the Indian team will be looking to respond strongly here.

Sutirtha Mukherjee has put India 1-0 ahead in the women’s team tie against Pakistan after a dominant straight-games victory over Aleena Khan. Sutirtha wrapped up the opening match 11-3, 11-3, 11-4, giving India a strong start.

India have also made two changes to their playing lineup for this tie, with Sutirtha Mukherjee and Syndrela Das coming in for Diya Chitale and Yashaswini Ghorpade.

Aadhya Tiwari and Jay Meena continue their impressive run in Group B, securing another straight-match victory. The Indian duo defeated Mongolia’s Bud Nyamdorj and Enkhkhuslen Ganbaatar 5-0, with game scores of 4-2, 4-1, 4-1, 4-0, 5-3.

Their final group-stage challenge will be against Kim Yeon-hwa and Park Jaekyu of South Korea. The Korean pair have also remained unbeaten and are yet to drop a game after two matches.

The two unbeaten pairs meet at 7:30 AM IST.

Srihari Nataraj has secured a place in the men’s 50m backstroke final, while Rishabh Das narrowly misses out. Srihari finished third in his heat with a time of 25.37 seconds, which was enough to squeeze into the final in the last qualifying spot. He is joint-ninth among the 10 swimmers who made the final.

Rishabh clocked 25.41 seconds to finish fourth in his heat and will be among the reserves for the final.

Rudrankksh Patil is on the third series so far, posting 104.2, 106.0 and 74.0. Himanshu Dhillon is on third series, with scores of 105.3, 104.6 and 31.4.

The qualification round continues, with the Indian shooters still building their totals.

India have done it! They defeat hosts Japan 2-0, winning the two matches 15-13 and 15-9 to take the opening match of the three-match group-stage series. It is a superb comeback from India, who had trailed 5-10 in the first set before turning the contest around. Japan managed to fight back late in the opening set, but India held their nerve and carried the momentum into the second.

With this victory, India take an early advantage in the three-match series, with two more encounters against Japan still to come.

India’s three shooters are currently on the board:

• Himanshu Dhillon: 105.3 | 10.3

• Rudrankksh Patil: 104.2 | 42.0 

• Parth Mane: 104.5 | 31.2

The qualification round is underway, with the scores continuing to build.

Rudrankksh Patil opens with 104.2, a modest start, although he appeared to find his rhythm as the series progressed with several strong shots. He’ll look to build on that in the rounds ahead.

Parth Mane records 104.5, while Himanshu Dhillon leads the Indian trio with 105.3 in the opening series.

The early standings have Himanshu 8th, Parth 13th and Rudrankksh 15th, but those positions are still provisional as shooters are at different stages of the qualification round.

India have taken firm control of the contest after a tight 2-2 start, racing ahead to 7-3 with another impressive spell led by Akash.

Japan are struggling to regain their rhythm, with the hosts visibly frustrated by the Indians’ surge. After a series of disputed challenges and mounting errors, Japan’s coach has also stepped onto the court as they look for answers.

Another timeout has now been called with Japan trailing 3-9. India is firmly in command.

Nyeman Wangsu finishes the women’s Changquan final with a score of 9.573, comprising 4.90 for Quality of Movement, 2.673 for Overall Performance and 2.00 for Degree of Difficulty.

With 14 athletes having performed so far, Wangsu is currently joint-12th in the 16-athlete field, leaving her outside the medal positions with two competitors still to perform.

What a turnaround from India! After trailing 5-10, India have rattled off seven consecutive points to move ahead 12-10. The introduction of Akash has made a clear difference, with the substitute producing some sharp kicks and adding fresh energy to the Indian attack.

Japan finally manage to halt the run, but India remain in control at 13-11 as the set enters its decisive phase. The momentum has completely shifted in India’s favour.

Jay Meena and Aadhya Tiwari have opened their Asian Games campaign in style, cruising past the Cambodian pair without dropping a game. The Indian duo completed a 5-0 victory, with the individual game scores reading 4-1, 4-0, 4-2, 4-1, 4-2.

They won’t have to wait long for their next outing, with Mongolia up next in the group stage in around 35 minutes.

India trail 5-10 as they call a timeout to regroup. The set is played to 15 points, and Japan have looked sharp so far, producing powerful winners and quick points. But the timeout appears to have worked! India win four straight points as Japan begin to make errors. Akash then produces a neat kick-tap winner to keep India right in the contest.

It’s been one-way traffic so far, with Aadhya Tiwari and Jay Meena taking the first three games comfortably. The scoreboard reads 4-1, 4-0, 4-2 as the Indian pair continue to dominate the early stages.

They still need to close out the match, but tougher challenges await later in the group stage, particularly against the South Korean pair.

India trail 3-6 against Japan, but the momentum has quickly shifted. India have made their first substitution, with the server being changed. The impact is immediate. India score two straight points to close the gap to 5-6. Earlier, India opened the scoring with a service ace, before Japan levelled through an error from the Indian server attempting a bicycle kick.

It has been a quick-shifting contest so far. The first team to reach 21 points takes the set. 🇮🇳 The Indian women’s team are also in the stands cheering on their compatriots.

India’s Aadhya Tiwari and Jay Meena begin their Mixed Doubles campaign this morning against Cambodia’s Viva Chao and Chanroseka Khun.

How does scoring work in Soft Tennis?

Unlike lawn tennis, Soft Tennis does not use the 15-30-40 scoring system.

• A game is won by scoring four points with a two-point margin.

• In doubles, the first team to win five games wins the match.

India will look to make a strong start to their campaign. 🇮🇳🎾