Asian Games 2026 Highlights: India Gets First Gold In Cricket; More Medals Confirmed In Badminton, Wushu; Tally Rises To 7

That's a wrap for today! Good Bye. See you all tomorrow!

India enjoyed a mixed day at the Asian Games, with the women’s cricket team securing the country’s first gold after a 147-run win over Sri Lanka. The men’s badminton team also assured India of a medal after beating Japan 3-0, while Roshibina Devi entered the wushu semifinals.

India’s hockey team continued its dominant run with a 16-1 win over Sri Lanka. Boxing saw Sakshi Chaudhary and Jadumani Singh advance, while gymnast Pranati Nayak qualified for the vault final. The women’s table tennis team reached the quarterfinals, but the men’s team bowed out. Shooters Elavenil Valarivan and Parth Mane finished fourth.

Women's Cricket (Final): India won the Gold Medal by defeating Sri Lanka by a massive 147 runs. India posted 216/3, powered by Smriti Mandhana’s 79 and Richa Ghosh’s unbeaten 49, before bowling Sri Lanka out for just 69.

Badminton Men's Team (Quarterfinals): India defeated hosts Japan 3-0 to enter the semifinals, assuring themselves of a medal. Key victories came from Lakshya Sen, the doubles duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, and Ayush Shetty.

Kabaddi Men's Team (Group Stage): The defending champions continued their dominant run by thrashing South Korea 63-31 in their Group A clash to sit comfortably at the top of the standings.

Table Tennis Women's Team (Round of 16): The Indian women's team advanced to the quarterfinals after edging out Thailand 3-2 in a hard-fought encounter.

Boxing Men's 55kg (Preliminaries): Jadumani Singh Mandengbam advanced to the 1/8th finals with a comprehensive 5-0 win on points against Nepal's Chandra Bahadur Thapa.

The final whistle blows on a ruthless performance as India secured another thumping victory. Jugraj Singh's four-goal haul alongside sensational hat-tricks from Abhishek Nain and Dilpreet Singh powered the Indian team to a dominant, high-scoring triumph over Sri Lanka.,

𝗔 𝗗𝗢𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗡𝗧 𝗡𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗜𝗡 𝗝𝗔𝗣𝗔𝗡! 🇮🇳🔥

Relive the action as the Indian Men’s Team powered past Sri Lanka 16-1 to make it two wins from two at the Asian Games 2026! 🏑💪

Next stop: South Korea on September 24. 🇮🇳⚡#HockeyIndia #IndiaKaGame #AsianGames2026… pic.twitter.com/ckDS6TUzuY, — Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) September 22, 2026

India's team campaigns came to a crushing halt as Cha wrapped up the final game 11-5 to secure a dominant 3-0 tie victory for North Korea. It was a tough double-blow for Indian table tennis, with both the men's and women's squads being dismissed in identical straight-match fashions by their East Asian opponents.

It's 16-1 for India now as they look to grab a huge win. Mandeep Singh produced a spectacular piece of skill, weaving through the defense before laying off a precise pass to Dilpreet Singh, who clinically slotted it home to complete his hat-trick.

A penalty stroke was awarded to India after a defender pushed Abhishek from behind to disrupt his excellent control inside the circle. Jugraj calmly took charge and converted from the spot to claim his personal fourth goal, pushing India's overwhelming scoreline to 15 with just seven minutes left.

A consolation goal for the Lankan Lions as India look to finish strong. A defensive lapse from India gifted a goal to Suresh Rathanayake, who pounced on a loose ball and executed a sharp reverse-stick finish. Although the play was sent upstairs for an official video review, the check cleared quickly and the goal was confirmed.

There was simply no stopping Harmanpreet's thunderous drag-flick as the Indian captain secured his brace in spectacular fashion. The goal closed out the third quarter, leaving India with one final 15-minute window to hunt for more goals.

GOAL! What an absolute rocket from Harmanpreet Singh! He unleashes a trademark, unstoppable drag-flick to pick up his second goal of the encounter. That brings us to the end of the third quarter. With just 15 minutes left on the clock, expect India to keep their foot on the accelerator.

India reached double digits after Mandeep Singh was brought down by a dangerous tackle inside the circle, earning his team a penalty stroke. Jugraj Singh stepped up to take the shot and clinically converted from the spot to score India's twelfth goal of the match.

GOALLLL!!! A masterclass in team passing resulted in another Indian goal. The ball zipped across the pitch from right to left before Dilpreet locked onto it for the final strike. Although the keeper got a piece of the shot, the block was not enough to prevent the ball from trickling over the goal line.

A clinical display saw North Korea's Pyon seal the match with a comprehensive 11-4, 11-3, 11-6 victory. The Indian camp showed signs of life early in the third game by racing to a quick 3-0 advantage, but Pyon extinguished the comeback trail to finish the contest in style.

GOAL! What a finish by Vivek Sagar Prasad using the reverse stick after great composure from Shilanand! Wait, we have a referral here—the umpires are checking the build-up for a possible back stick or foul by Shilanand... The replay is up, and there's no issue at all! The goal stands!

Deep trouble for India here against the North Korean powerhouse! With the tie already at 0-1, the second match is slipping away fast.

Pyon Song Gyong is absolutely picking Yashaswini apart out there, taking a commanding lead in the match by locking down the first two games 11-4, 11-3.

What a spectacular start to the half! India immediately pushed forward from the restart, working the ball to Manpreet, who quickly controlled it and fired a sharp shot past the keeper. Seeing the former captain score is a rare treat, making it a fantastic moment for the team.

Here's a detailed look at how Lakshya Sen, Satwik-Chirag and Ayush Shetty helped India assure a medal in Men's Badminton event.

India trails 0-1 after Sreeja Akula fell 11-7, 11-6, 11-5 to Kim Kum Yong in a dominant opening match. The responsibility to bring India back into the tie now falls on the shoulders of Yashaswini Ghorpade.

Standing in for Manika Batra, the impressive youngster faces a crucial second match against Pyon Song Gyong.

A huge lead for India at the end of the second quarter. India are making a meal of Sri Lankan hockey players. India have outplayed their opponents totally and are looking to grab a phenomenal victory.

Another penalty corner converted perfectly as India lead 7-0 against Sri Lanka. 

First game to Kim! Kim Kum Yong secures the opener 11-7 against Sreeja Akula to set a tense tone in this quarterfinal battle. We are seeing a incredibly tight start to this match. Pure entertainment for the neutrals, but a nail-biting roller coaster for the fans!

India extended their commanding lead to 6-0 through a successful penalty corner routine. Jugraj hammered a fierce drag-flick toward the target, and while a post defender managed to get a stick on it, the deflection could not prevent the ball from crossing the line.

Indian gymnast Pranati Nayak secured her spot in the individual vault final, finishing seventh in the qualification round with a score of 12.916 to claim one of the eight available spots. 

There is no stopping the Indian frontline! Abhishek was in the right place at the right time once more to slot home his second goal of the encounter, punishing the defense amid a wave of non-stop Indian attacks.

Just seconds into the new quarter, India struck again to make it 4-0. Harmanpreet fired a powerful drag-flick from a penalty corner; though a defender on the post managed to get a stick to the ball, the heavy deflection wasn't enough to stop it from crossing the goal line.

Another goal for India! A spectacular long aerial ball found Jarmanpreet inside the striking circle. He controlled it beautifully before squaring it to Abhishek, who deftly tapped it in from point-blank range.

India made it 2-0 thanks to a clinical penalty corner strike from Jugraj, who drilled a low, hard shot into the back of the net. Despite a slightly disjointed performance, India's attacking efficiency remains sharp and effective.

GOAL! India strikes early in the fifth minute! A brilliant entry into the circle from the right sees Abhishek cut the ball back from the baseline. Mandeep traps it perfectly and unleashes a powerful strike past the goalkeeper to put India ahead.

Defending champions India look to carry the momentum from their clinical 13-1 opening win against Indonesia into their second group stage encounter against Sri Lanka. India have strong lineup and will look to grab an easy win over their neighbours.,

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗘𝗨𝗣 𝗜𝗦 𝗦𝗘𝗧! 🇮🇳🏑🔥

The Indian Men’s Team’s Playing XI is ready for Match 2 of their Asian Games 2026 campaign against Sri Lanka! 💪🇮🇳

⏰ 3:30 PM IST

Watch the action LIVE on the Sony Sports Network and Sony LIV.#HockeyIndia #IndiaKaGame #AsianGames2026… pic.twitter.com/pseV2khI15, — Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) September 22, 2026

India's Roshibina Devi has stormed into the semifinals of the women's 60kg Sanda event after a dominant 5-0 victory over Macao, China's Chu Man Sin. This is another achivement for the Indian contingent.

To no one's surprise, China claimed the gold medal in the men's 4x100m medley relay with a time of 3:27.89—a relatively slow pace by their elite standards.

Japan and South Korea completed the podium to secure silver and bronze, while the Indian quartet finished at the bottom of the pack in 3:44.26

In a tense finish, Ayush Shetty overcame a late scare to defeat Koki Watanabe 21-10, 21-19, clinching a medal for India. After dominating the first game, Ayush saw his 11-5 interval cushion vanish in the second.

However, he refocused at 19-19 to wrap things up in straight games, prompting an ecstatic reaction from Chirag Shetty and the rest of the Indian contingent.

India now looks ahead to tomorrow’s semifinal, which is tracking toward a massive rematch against China.

India's Jadumani Singh advanced to the round of 16 with a commanding 5-0 unanimous decision victory over Chandra Bahadur Thapa.

After dropping Thapa into a standing eight-count with a devastating left hook, Jadumani stayed out of trouble, controlled the distance, and sealed the fight with a brilliant counter punch.

Pushing forward to the boxing ring, India's Jadumani Singh takes the stage against Nepal's Chandra Bahadur Thapa in the men's 55kg round of 32 clash.

Fresh off securing a silver medal at the 2026 Commonwealth Games, Jadumani aims to kickstart his Asian Games journey with a victory.

It has been total dominance from Ayush Shetty, who used superior net play and court coverage to outclass Japan's Koki Watanabe. The Indian comfortably locks in the opening game 21-10.

The ring action continues as Jadumani Singh steps up next to trade blows with Chandra Bahadur in their scheduled boxing clash at 2:15 pm. All eyes will be on the Indian boxer who can grab the win and make his nation proud.

Ayush Shetty is closing in on a clean sweep as he commands a dominant 13-5 lead over Koki Watanabe in first set.

Despite a resilient effort from Japan's Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi to save three match points, India's Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty held their nerve. "Sat-Chi" ultimately secured a thrilling 24-22 victory, sealing a dominant 2-0 lead for India in the quarter-final tie.

Indian's women cricket team grabbed India's first Gold medal of Asian Games 2026.

Brief scores: India 216 for 3 in 20 overs (Smriti Mandhana 79, Richa Ghosh 49 not out, Shafali Verma 48; Chamudi Praboda 1/34.) Sri Lanka 69 all out in 15.4 overs (Chamari Athapaththu 29; Deepti Sharma 3/6).

Massive achivement once again for Indian Women's team.,

Back-to-back 𝗚𝗢𝗟𝗗 𝗠𝗘𝗗𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗦 🏅

Congratulations to #TeamIndia on clinching a 2️⃣nd consecutive Gold Medal in women's cricket at the #AsianGames 🇮🇳👏

Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/DVlhLBajxB pic.twitter.com/AAkS0VDUKh, — BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) September 22, 2026

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty locked in the first game 21-18. After finding their rhythm, the Indian duo erased an early deficit to level the score at 13-13 before moving ahead 17-16.

Following a tense sequence that saw scores tied at 17-17 compounded by an unsuccessful Indian challenge and 18-18, Satwik-Chirag injected explosive speed into a rapid rally to secure two game points.

They sealed the opener 21-18, cruising through the final moments by forcing critical errors from the Japanese pair.

It looks very difficult for Sri Lanka now as they are 7 wickets down in the final game against India. They need 162 runs in 53 balls with just 3 wickets in hand. India are on the lookout for their first gold medal of the Asian Games 2026.

Unsurprisingly, reigning world champion Song Se-ra of South Korea proved too strong for Taniksha Khatri, securing a 15-9 victory in the women's epee individual Round of 16. Khatri tried her best but failed to grab a win. Indian contigent are completely out of the competition in fencing.

The Japanese duo of Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi has taken an early 7-4 advantage over India's Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty.

Sri Lanka Women's cricket team have lost three early wickets with a score of 43-3 in 6.5 overs. India are looking very strong and almost close to the Gold Medal haunt. Sri Lanka need 174 of 79 balls. It looks like a miracle for Sri Lanka as Indian bowlers dominating the campaign.

Fantastic, phenomenal and mindblowing from Lakshya. He was down 11-6 at a time and made up for his mistakes later. He played some brilliant shots and grabbed a  21-19 win in the final set. This massive win puts India 1-0 up in the tie. We saw some clinical shots and a an outstanding Lakshya.

Finishing second in Group C, Aryan Thakur concluded his men's singles Soft Tennis campaign at the Asian Games after dropping his match against Chen Po-yi of Chinese Taipei 0-4 (1-4, 2-4, 2-4, 1-4).

With a total score of 18.839, Langlentombi Devi Hanjabam secured ninth place in the overall standings. This final rank followed her performance in the nandao discipline, where a score of 9.436 placed her eighth. Meanwhile, China's Zhang Yaling captured the gold medal with a winning score of 19.569.

Lakshya Sen is back with a bang! Sen completedly dismantled Japan's Naraoka in the second set and won the game by 21-5. All of a sudden things have changed and the final set will be the decider now. 

Indian women's cricket team made a huge total of 216-3 in 20 overs in the Gold Medal match. While Smriti made 79 in 45 balls, Shafali Verma and Richa Ghosh nearly missed out on their half century. India look in complete control as they look to hold Sri Lanka and grab India's first gold medal in Asian Games 2026.

Lakshya faces defeat in the first set against Kodai Naraoka. Lakshya started well and was locked 6-6 in the beginning. However the game moved away from him as Naraoka showed his class. Naraoka takes the first game 21-11.

Indian women's team have dominated throughout their batting and currently India are 157-2 in 16 overs. While Smriti Mandhana looks to complete her century, Richa Ghosh is building a smart partnership with her. India looks to finish strong and take the total score to 200. Sri Lanka Women will surely face a tough challenge when they come to bat.

India's Lakshya Sen is up against Japan's K Naraoka in the Indian Men's team badminton quarter-finals. India will look to do well after their women's contigent faced a setback earlier.

Although Indian men's table tennis team started their round of 16 matches brilliant, they faltered in the end. India lost to Republic of Korea 3-0. Manush Shah fought hard in his game and tried to win the game. However his opponent Oh Junsung was too strong for him. Manav Thakkar was 10-4 up in the first game against An Jaehyun before the Korean made a brilliant comeback.

Taniksha Khatri defeated Thailand's Natpapat Sangngio 15-10 in a hard fought game. Khatri claims the first win of the day in the fencing unit. She will lock horns against reigning world champion Song Sera from Republic of Korea in the round of 16 clash.

After a brilliant start for team India, Smriti Mandhana scored a brilliant half century of 30 balls. This was her 37th T2I fifty. She always steps up for his team when they need her the most. Shafali Verma narrowly missed out on her half century as she was dismissed for 48(29). India are 106/1 in 10.5 overs. 

Indian star boxer Sakshi Chaudhary pulled off an upset by out-punching Paris Olympics bronze-medallist Aira Villegas of the Philippines 5-0 to storm into the women''s 51kg pre-quarterfinals at the Asian Games here on Tuesday.

After a cagey start by both boxers, Sakshi employed the jab to control the proceedings throughout the round-of-32 bout.

India's Chetan Bhatt suffered a heartbreak as he lost to Chinese Taipei's Meng-yu Chung by Senshu after their men's Kumite 84kg bronze medal playoff ended at 1-1 at the Asian Games here on Tuesday.

The Indian women’s team campaign comes to an end after a 1-3 loss to Japan in the quarterfinals. 

Results

India 1-3 Japan

PV Sindhu lost to Akane Yamaguchi 23-21, 18-21, 11-21. She looked good in the first set but eventually fell to her opponent in the next two.

Unnati Hooda lost to Tomoka Miyazaki 16-21, 18-21.

However Treesa Jolly/Gayatri Gopichand Pullela from India defeated Yuki Fukushima/Mayu Matsumoto 21-17, 21-16. 

Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma have started well for India hitting the opposition bowlers. India are in complete control with 40/0 in 4 overs.

The India Women's team have won the toss and have opted to bat first. 

India Women (Playing XI): Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Gunalan Kamalini, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Richa Ghosh(w), Bharti Fulmali, Deepti Sharma, Shreyanka Patil, Shree Charani, Nandani Sharma, Kranti Gaud

India has concluded Day 3 of the 2026 Asian Games with a total tally of 6 medals (4 silver, 2 bronze), remaining poised in 12th place as the action shifts toward the highly anticipated Day 4 medal rounds. It's a goodbye for today. Keep following for tomorrow's action as India look to grab more laurels and improve their rank.,

India has many medal opportunities at the 2026 Asian Games, headlined by the Women’s Cricket Gold Medal Match against Sri Lanka at 10:00 PM IST.

Early morning shooting events kick off the medal push, featuring the 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team finals from 6:15 AM IST and the concluding rounds of the Men's & Women's Skeet events.

Additionally, Indian athletes will go for podium finishes in the Women’s Wushu Nanquan & Nandao final starting at 7:30 AM IST, while the Men's 1500m Freestyle and 4x100m Medley Relay teams look to secure swimming medals in the evening.

Meanwhile, the Men’s Badminton Team takes on Japan at 11:30 AM IST in a high-stakes quarterfinal where a victory will guaranteed India at least a bronze medal.

Indian cricket team captain Shreyas Iyer shared his thoughts ahead of India's clash against Japan tomorrow. India arrived here on Sunday ahead of Tuesday''s game before heading to Nagoya for the Asia Games.

The Indian women's Kabbaddi team who are the defending champions started their kabaddi campaign brilliantly with an 42-21 score agains Bangladesh. India controlled the second half as well and finished the contest well with some fantastic raids and super tackles. They next play Iran on Wednesday.

The defending champions played brillaintly in the opening minutes and finished the first round with a splendid 21-10 lead. Some brilliant raids and some cruncing tackles saw Indian Women Kabbaddi team take the huge lead. India will look to grab more points as second round starts.

India's women's team are up against Bangaldesh in Kabaddi. India have started well in the first round and are up 17-6 in the contest. Indian players showed some dominant moves in the early stages.

Indian men's table tennis team won all their individual games against Pakistan and stormed into the round of 16 at the Asian Games 2026.

Payas Jain finished his campaign with 11-7 win over Pakistan’s Khan Muhammad as India grabbed a 3-0 win against Pakistan in Men's Table Tennis. Earlier India's Women's Table Tennis team also won against their arch-rivals Pakistan. Jain won 11-1, 11-8, 11-9 in straight games.

Payas Jain of India comfortably wins the first set 11-1 against Pakistan's Khan. He will look to clinch another victory for India to make it 3 out of 3 for his country.

Although Pakistan's Abbas Khan fought brilliantly in the final set, Sathiyan fought back well and grabbed a brilliant 11-9 win to take India 2-0 up against Pakistan. In the first set Sathiyan won cleanly by 11-1. In the second game Abbas improved and the contest ended 11-4.

In the second match India's Sathiyan Gnanasekaran is up against  Abbas Khan from Pakistan. After Desai's win he will look to extend India's tally.

A fanstistic 3-0 starting set wins by India's Harmeet Desai over his arch rival Khan Muhammad. The final set score read 11-5. He gives an early lead to the the Indian table tennis contigent.

Desai was once again top notch with his performance against Pakistan's Muhammad Khan in the second game. The Indian table tennis star grabbed another win in the second set taking it 11-3. 

India's Harmeet Desai looked brillaint in the opening set and won the first set against Pakistan's Muhammad Khan. The score was 11-4 in a one sided contest. 

Harmeet Desai leads 5-1 against Mohammad Khan in Men's Table Tennis in Group F clash. All eyes will be on the Desai after India women's table tennis team grabbed a win earlier.

Roshibina Devi clinched a fasinating win against Bangladesh's Shika Khatun and advanced to the quarter-finals of Women's 60kg wushu event. She won the event the event by point difference in the starting round.

The quarter-finals of the Asian Games 2026 will be held tomorrow.

Next up is India's Women's 60kg Round of 16 match between India's Naorem Roshibina Devi and Bangladesh's Most Shika Khatun is just about to begin, scheduled for 3:15 PM IST. Roshibina Devi enters the Asian Games 2026 as a highly decorated athlete, having previously clinched a bronze medal in 2018 and a silver medal in 2023. 

Indian shooter Rakesh Mane spoke to the media after grabbing a silver medal in Men’s Air Rifle event earlier today at  Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026, Nagoya, Japan. ,

#WATCH | Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026 | Nagoya, Japan: On winning a Silver medal in the Men’s Air Rifle event, Indian shooter Rakesh Mane says, "It is definitely an important medal and an important experience for me. It’s a special medal because it’s my first Asian Games medal… pic.twitter.com/rZbFeQkbQS, — ANI (@ANI) September 21, 2026

The Indian men''s kabaddi team began its title defence at the Asian Games with a resounding 49-24 win over hosts Japan in their opening Group fixture here on Monday. India are placed in Group A alongside Japan, South Korea, Chinese Taipei and Bangladesh.

Nataraj registered a time of 25.52 seconds to take the 10th spot in the continental medal round. Earlier in the day, the two-time Olympian booked his ticket to the final by clocking a slightly faster time of 25.37 seconds, finishing third in his specific heat and joint-ninth overall during the qualification phase.

Here's what happened during India Women's Hockey match with Indonesia.

India thumped Bangladesh winning all three rounds in Badminton singles event at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya. They will next face Japan on September 22 in a crucial tie to confirm a medal. While Lakshya Sen defeated Jaman Ayman Ibn 21-4, 21-12, Ayush Shetty got the better of Gourab Singha 21-4, 21-13.

Finally Kidambi Srikanth clinched a win against Jumar Al-Amin 21-15, 21-9.

Teenage shooter Himanshu Dhillon produced a superb performance in the back end to win silver, while former world champion Rudrankksh Patil clinched bronze as India secured two individual podium finishes in the men's 10m air rifle event at Asian Games.

India Women hammered Indonesia to register a thumping win in Asian Games Hockey. Deepika Sehrawat, Rutuja Dadaso Pisal and Navneet Kaur fired hat-tricks to take their team’s goal tally to 17 against Indonesia’s 1.

Indian MMA fighter Suchika Tariyal on Monday won the country’s first-ever medal in MMA. Suchika won the Bronze Medal after being defeated by Singaporean MMA fighter Victoria Reo in a closely-contested semifinal.