India has made a great start in the Asian Games 2026. Women's 10m Air Rifle team opened India's account by winning silver. Elavenil Valarivan won silver in the individual category of the same event. He also made important contribution in the team competition. Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter Suchika Tariyal has assured herself of a medal by reaching the semi-finals of the 60 kg category. At the same time, the Indian women's cricket team has also secured a medal by making it to the finals.
Once again, there is a possibility of more medals in sports like shooting, athletics and archery in the Asian Games being held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. Let us know which teams and players have higher medal expectations.
Suruchi Singh
Suruchi Singh won the gold medal at the 2026 ISSF World Cup in Munich with a score of 242.1. She will challenge in the 10 meter air pistol event. At just 20 years of age, Suruchi has proved that when a medal is at stake, she can score big.
Also read: PM Modi's advisor's son out of Asian Games, faints while trying to lose weight
Men's 50m Rifle-3 Positions Team
This team consisting of the trio of Aishwarya Pratap Singh Tomar, Neeraj Kumar and Rudraksh Patil is considered to be a strong contender to win the gold. Aishwarya had won the Asian Championship title in February with a world record score of 362.0. He won four medals at the 2023 Hangzhou Games. At the same time, former 10 meter air rifle world champion Rudraksh has also started participating in 50 meter rifle-3 position event after the disappointment of Paris Olympics and has made his mark as a strong contender.
Neeraj had won the gold medal in 50 meter rifle-3 positions in the 38th National Games in 2025. He was also a part of India's bronze medal winning 3P team at the 2022 World Championship.
Isha Singh
Isha Singh has performed well this year. 21-year-old Isha has presented herself as a strong contender by winning the 25m pistol event with a world record score of 43/50 in the ISSF World Cup final held in Munich in May. He also won the gold medal in the Hangzhou World Cup in July.
Also read: Asian Games: Indian women's hockey team made a great start, defeated Uzbekistan 19-0
Preeti Pawar
Boxer Preeti Pawar is a contender for gold in the Asian Games. He won the gold medal in the World Boxing Cup held in New Delhi in November last year and continued his excellent form this season too by winning gold medals in both the Asian Championships and the Commonwealth Games.
Dheeraj Bommadevara
Asia's number-1 recurve archer Dheeraj Bommadevara will go to win his first gold in the Asiad. Dheeraj performed brilliantly in the World Cup Stage 3 held in Antalya and won the individual gold medal. He defeated Lee Woo Seok of South Korea 7-3 in the final.
Murali Srishankar
Murali Sreeshankar is a medal contender in men's long jump. He missed the gold in Hangzhou by three centimetres. He won the silver medal with a jump of 8.19 meters. After knee surgery, he would now like to change the color of the medal. He had jumped 8.38 meters in the National Inter-State Championship, which no Asian long jumper has been able to reach this season.
Tejinder Pal Singh Toor
Tejinderpal Singh Toor has arrived in Aichi-Nagoya with a chance to become the first Indian shot putter to win gold in three consecutive Asian Games. Tejinder has achieved form of 21 meters. This season he has thrown 21.03 meters, which is his best performance in the last two years.
Also read: Players kept waiting for hours for rooms, mismanagement in Asian Games
Jyoti Surekha Vennam
India's compound archer Jyoti Surekha Vennam has won 5 gold medals in the Asian Games, which includes 3 gold medals. At the World Cup Stage 4 in Madrid, the trio of Jyoti, Prithika and Chikita won the silver medal in the women's team event. During this time, the Indian team had surprised South Korea in the semi-finals.
indian kabaddi team
Both India's men's and women's teams had won gold in the last Asian Games. India has always dominated Kabaddi in Asiad. Only Iran's team can challenge it.
satvik-chirag
In badminton, the pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty are trying to defend their men's doubles title. Satwik-Chirag have won the Singapore Open and China Masters titles this year. The biggest challenge for Satwik and Chirag in the Asian Games will be Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who are the world champions in doubles.