Former Indian cricketer Madan Lal congratulated the India women’s cricket team for securing the gold medal at the 2026 Asian Games held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.
The team continued their dominant performance at the continental level by winning their second consecutive Asian Games gold medal. In the final against Sri Lanka, India posted a commanding total of 216 for 3, with notable innings from Smriti Mandhana, who scored 79 off 45 balls, and Shafali Verma, who made 48 runs from 29 deliveries. Richa Ghosh contributed an unbeaten 49 off 22 balls. Mandhana’s innings featured five fours and seven sixes and marked her 37th half-century in T20 internationals. She also became the first woman cricketer to reach 11,000 international runs.
India’s bowlers then dismantled the Sri Lankan batting order, dismissing them for 69 runs in 15.4 overs, securing a 147-run victory. Deepti Sharma led the bowling attack with figures of 3 for 6, while Shafali Verma and Shreyanka Patil took two wickets each. Shree Charani also claimed two wickets. This triumph gave India their first gold medal of the 2026 Asian Games and was the nation’s seventh medal at the event, adding to four silver and two bronze medals already won.
Speaking to ANI, Madan Lal described the achievement as a memorable moment and praised the team’s sustained good form over recent months. “Look, gold is gold. First of all, I would like to congratulate them, the Indian women’s cricket team, because they have won the gold. These moments are memorable moments. And they have won the gold; all credit goes to them,” he said. He added, “They deserve it because they’ve been playing good cricket for the last 3-4 months, and it’s always an achievement. It all goes into the history book, you know. When you retire, when you don’t play cricket or anything else, then you remember that ‘we won the gold medal’.”
Madan Lal welcomed cricket’s inclusion in multi-sport events such as the Olympics and Asian Games but emphasized the importance of raising the standard of competition to enhance the spectator experience. “It is overall good for cricket, like that you are participating in the Olympics as well, and you are doing so in the Asian Games too. But, in my opinion, the standard needs to be good, because look, the real enjoyment comes when you get an opportunity to watch a good match. You would also want to watch a good match, and our public, the spectators who have great knowledge, would want to watch a good match. If it’s just about participating, then you will win the medal anyway because you are that good. But how to improve the standard, that is a matter of serious thought,” he remarked.
In a separate match at the Games, the Indian men’s cricket team, led by Shreyas Iyer, narrowly defeated Japan in a rain-shortened five-over T20 International at Sano. India posted 32 for 4, with Iyer top-scoring with 16 runs. Japan’s bowlers, including Charlie Hara-Hinze who took 2 for 17 and Ibrahim Takahashi, performed well on the slow pitch. Japan began their chase strongly, reaching 7 for 2 before Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming and Benjamin Ito-Davis stabilized the innings. Washington Sundar dismissed Kadowaki-Fleming for 12, leaving Japan needing eight runs from the final six balls. Axar Patel then successfully defended eight runs in the last over, guiding India to a two-run victory.
Regarding the men’s narrow win, Madan Lal advised against viewing the result as a wake-up call, noting the differing stages of cricket development between India and Japan. He stressed the need for emerging cricket nations to strengthen grassroots structures through school, college and university cricket in order to raise their standards. “This is no wake-up call; I don’t believe this is a wake-up call. You are comparing Japan and India. Japan has just started playing cricket. Our players are well-seasoned players. They play day in and day out. But there is no match for the Indian team. For these minnow countries, it is very difficult to rise up. First of all, they should build their structure. They should take care of the basic things. You should play your school cricket, college cricket, university cricket, and all the cricket through. which you can raise your standard,” he said.
Madan Lal expressed confidence in the Indian men’s team’s prospects at the Games, citing the experience and composure of the squad. “India has a chance because of very experienced players, and they know what to do, and they know the job. So, hopefully they win a gold medal, and they really deserve it,” he said.