India could not repeat the performance of Hangzhou in the Asian Games 2026 held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. This time there were 21 less medals. In the last Asian Games held in Hangzhou, Indian athletes had won 106 medals, which included 28 gold medals. There were expectations of another big jump after the record performance in Hangzhou but India's campaign ended with a big drop in medal tally.
India returned from Aichi-Nagoya with a total of 85 medals including 21 gold. India again finished fourth in the medal tally but if 11 gold had not been won in the last two days, it would have been difficult to make it to the top-5.
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Why were there fewer medals?
The biggest reason for India's less medals in Aichi-Nagoya was its inability to perform as expected in shooting and athletics. India has been strong in both these games but got less medals this time compared to Hangzhou. India's performance especially declined in shooting. Last time, the 30-member Indian team, which won 22 medals including 7 gold, 9 silver and 6 bronze, returned this time with 15 medals including 3 gold, 8 silver and 4 bronze. India's campaign began with a series of missed chances and a wobble from the contenders. The performance of double Olympic medalist Manu Bhaker was disappointing. India could not win a medal in women's 10 meter air pistol.
In men's 10 meter air pistol, the team of Kamaljeet, Akash Bhardwaj and Kedarling Uchagaon also did not do anything special. Suruchi Singh and Kamaljeet opened India's account of gold medal in shooting by winning gold in the 10 meter air pistol mixed team event. However, the player who changed the atmosphere of the team was Neeru Dhanda. 27-year-old Neeru became the first Indian woman to win an individual Asian Games gold in trap shooting. She won a silver in the women's team event and another gold medal in the mixed team event with Kainan Chenai. But Neeru's brilliant achievements could not completely hide the concerns of Indian shooting.
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There was a setback in athletics also
India also suffered a big setback in athletics. India's performance in this game, which won six gold medals in Hangzhou, was quite low this time. Even before the competition started, star javelin player Neeraj Chopra withdrew due to injury and one of India's big gold medal contenders was out. The difficulties did not end here. Tejinderpal Singh Toor could not complete a hat-trick of gold medals in the Asian Games, while long jumper Murali Srishankar and high jumper Sarvesh Kushare had to settle for silver. The performance of these players shows that India is in the competition but there is still a gap left in changing the color of the medal to gold.
Injuries of players also increased India's problems. Jyoti Yaraji withdrew from the preliminary heats of the women's 100m hurdles race after feeling pain and discomfort in her knee during practice. Avinash Sable, returning from a serious knee injury, finished fourth in the men's 3000 meter steeplechase. The women's 4 × 400 m relay team of Kiran Pahal, M Poovamma, Prachi Choudhary and Vithya Ramraj won the only gold in athletics. In tennis, Indian players returned without any medal for the first time in 40 years.
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Good performance in these games
Kumkum Mohod created history by winning individual recurve gold in archery. She became the first Indian to win an Asian Games gold in individual recurve. India won 5 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze medals in archery. In Hangzhou also the archery team had won the same number of medals. The most important thing was that recurve archers won medals in all 5 events which included 2 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze. This is being considered a sign of India's strong ability to challenge South Korea's long-standing dominance.
India won 6 medals in wrestling, of which 2 were gold. Sujit Kalkal and Aman Sehrawat defeated Olympic and World champions on their way to the gold medal. Nitesh Siwach and Sunil Kumar also performed brilliantly in the Greco-Roman category, making the wrestling performance excellent.
India achieved historic achievement in golf. Pranavi Urs became the first Indian woman to win individual gold at the Asian Games. The women's team of Pranavi, Aditi Ashok and Deeksha Dagar won the silver medal, giving India its first women's team golf medal in the Asian Games.
Boxing also gave hope for the future. Parveen Hooda made a spectacular comeback after a 22-month suspension and won gold in the women's 65 kg category. His bronze medal won in Hangzhou was snatched from him due to suspension. Lovlina Borgohain converted Hangzhou's silver medal into gold this time, while Ankush Panghal added another gold to India's kitty in the men's 80 kg category.
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Dominance continued in hockey and cricket
In hockey, the Indian women's team won the Asian Games gold medal, ending a wait of 44 years. It defeated defending champion China 1–0 in the final. Lalremsiami scored the decisive goal, while goalkeeper Bichu Devi performed brilliantly and experienced Savita Punia played a key role throughout the campaign. However, an even bigger achievement than this gold was qualifying directly for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The men's team also retained the Asian Games title and secured a ticket to Los Angeles. After a thrilling 4-3 semi-final win against Pakistan, the Indian men's team defeated Malaysia in the final.
Cricket ended India's campaign on a high note. India retained the gold medal by defeating arch-rival Pakistan by 19 runs in the men's final. The team captained by Shreyas Iyer maintained its composure in the stressful match. Earlier, the Indian women's team had also won the gold medal. In this way India successfully defended its title in both the cricket competitions.