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CHENNAI: With 85 medals, India is certainly staring at the possibility of not matching its Asian Games high from last time around in Chennai, when the country finished with 106 medals.
Even with fewer medals than the 2022 edition, there are several good stories, journeys that have come out this time around. Sports like teqball, softball and mixed martial arts have seen a sharp spike in interest.
Just months before the Asian Games, the Indian women’s hockey team had shown a great sign of promise with its best-ever finish at a World Cup in 52 years. In six games at the World Cup, the women’s team had let in just six goals, with the foundation of its success being rock-solid defence. But beating China required more than just defence.
Sjoerd Marijne, tasked with the rebuild, did that and more, building a team which could run the hard yards and seal tough wins, which was on display in the 1-0 win over China in the final. If Bichu Devi did well in one game, veteran Savita Punia ensured that India won gold with her stellar saves in the final, showing how the team has evolved from its previous self.
Young, academically inclined, confident, and wary of the social media razzmatazz. History-making teenage Indian archer Kumkum Mohod has been described as obsessive about her craft by those who have witnessed her growth from the time she first picked up the bow as a nine-year-old.
The 17-year-old prodigy from Maharashtra's Amravati scripted history in the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Saturday when she defeated South Korea's Oh Ye-Jin to win India's first-ever women's individual recurve archery gold medal at the mega-event. She also clinched an Olympic quota place for the country with her gold. Kumkum has been training at Dange’s Radhey Archery Academy in Amravati. A quiet girl who loves to know anything and everything about her sport, Kumkum has bigger goals already set in her mind. "Almost every day, she tells me that it is my commitment to you that I want to win the Olympic medal for you," Dange said.
September 29: Neeru Dhanda becomes the first Indian woman to win an individual Asian Games gold medal. Exactly ten days before the event, even the thought of it seemed distant, as Dhanda was on a hospital bed with suspected H1N1. There was no guarantee that Dhanda would even participate in the Asian Games, let alone bring laurels to the nation.
She was even unable to eat solid food, with her preparation badly affected.
Yet, she now leaves the Asian Games as one of India’s most successful athletes, winning two gold medals and a silver, including the first for Indian women in trap shooting. The other gold, a mixed team trap with Kynan Chenai, was also a first for the country, becoming the first Indian shotgun shooter to win two titles of a single Asian Games edition. It is only fitting that Dhanda will be one of the two to carry the Indian flag at the closing ceremony.
After a successful Commonwealth Games, there were questions over whether the Indian women’s boxers could sustain that bit of form heading into the Asian Games. Lovlina Borgohain and Parveen Hooda have made history at the Asian Games, clinching gold medals in their respective categories and ending the nation's 12-year drought for women's boxing titles.
With these wins, Lovlina and Parveen joined the legendary MC Mary Kom in a select group of Indian women boxers who have won Asian Games gold medals. Why is that important?
For the longest time, boxing was a sport that was dominated by men, and now, at the turn of 2026, the women’s boxers in the country have flipped that script. At the start of this year, there was a serious possibility that Lovlina moved away from the sport, but now, with renewed focus and success, the 29-year-old could be India’s trump card at the upcoming Los Angeles Olympics.
Quotes: "It was a tough year for me. (Earlier) I wanted to quit boxing. But I continued. I had to change the colour of my medal (at the Asian Games) – Lovlina
Daughter of a truck driver, Vithya Ramraj has rewritten history, clocking a personal best of 54.75 seconds to break a more than four-decade-old national record created by the legendary PT Usha. More importantly, she gave a bigger reason for the nation to celebrate when she anchored the crucial part of the women’s 4*400m relay team event to clinch gold.
Vithya had earlier anchored India to a silver medal in the 4x400m mixed relay event, and even won a bronze, completing the set of medals.
For Ramraj, Vithya’s remarkable achievements are the culmination of years of financial hardship, sacrifice and unwavering support for his daughter’s sporting ambitions. “I was confident that Vithya would win medals, and she has proved it by helping India win gold,” Ramraj said.
Even her twin sister, Nithya, has pursued intensive athletic training, and if not for a serious injury, could have been part of the Asian Games. Now that she’s finally taken off, her eyes will be firmly on the Olympics, where she will be expected to bring back some glory to the country.
Elavenil, one of India’s most accomplished rifle shooters, helped the country secure silver in the team event before adding an individual silver later in the day. The latter, however, came with a hint of disappointment as the Tamil Nadu-born shooter appeared firmly on course for gold for most of the final, only to see her challenge fade in the closing stages as Japan’s Hinata Taichi held her nerve to emerge champion.
Before stepping onto the individual final range, however, Elavenil had already helped India open its shooting campaign with a silver medal in the women’s 10m air rifle team event. After enduring years of intense scrutiny, near-misses and self-doubt, Elavenil finally completes that redemption arc, securing silver medals across the board.
Gulveer ended the Asian Games as the second Indian man and fourth from the country to win three medals in track and field events in a single edition of the continental games, with Lavy Pinto (New Delhi 1951, 3 medals), PT Usha (Seoul, 1986, 4 medals) and KM Beenamol (Busan 2002, 3 medals) having achieved that previously.
But more importantly, continuing from his Commonwealth Games success, Gulveer has ensured that the expectations amongst the fans have now risen, and the athletic bar has been raised.
Before the 2026 Asian Games, teqball was a sport that was lesser known in the country. One of the fastest-growing sports that combines elements of football and table tennis, teqball only became famous in India after Qumicy Dsouza’s participation. While she might have lost both her bronze matches, the 22-year-old has ensured that the nation now knows the sport – a bigger success.
Not to forget Suchika Tariyal, who won India’s maiden medal in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). While the colour of it was bronze, Suchika had endured a rough heartbreak, as she only settled for the lesser medal because of the ‘weight rules’, which prevented her from bigger glory. But rest assured, Quincy and Suchika have made teqball and MMA now well-known.
At 2-9, Sujeet was staring at the bottom of the barrel, and the title seemingly moving away from him. But the 23-year-old is built differently and handles things in a way that seems beyond normal people’s imagination. Within seconds, the young Indian not only overturned the deficit but scored eight straight points, leaving his opponent completely stunned, and adding the Asian Games title to the U23 World and Asian Championship.
After all, he’s not new to making comebacks, having missed out on previous opportunities all because of bizarre reasons, be it missing out because of a policy that backed Bajrang Punia, or when he was stuck at the airport, missing an Olympic qualifier in Bishkek, or losing a bout on criteria after being tied with Zain Retherford in Istanbul. But this one seemed the most special.
Manu Bhaker went medalless and endured one of the roughest campaigns on an individual level, with Esha Singh being the lone bright spot in India’s shooting hopes here in Japan. For someone who stole the limelight during the Olympics with her precise shooting, Bhaker’s sudden fall comes at a wrong time after already enduring a tough year on a personal level with the demise of her long-time coach and mentor, Jaspal Rana.
Similarly, the Indian tennis team returned home quite disappointed, ending a 40-year medal streak in lawn tennis, from 1990 to 2022. The dream ended with Sumit Nagal, who exited in the quarter-finals. It wasn’t too different in badminton either, as India disappointed majorly, with PV Sindhu getting knocked out early, and the pairing of Sathwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty unable to defend their title.
After a crippling triple bogey on the third hole of the final round, Pranavi Urs realigned herself and was soon totally locked into the game. So much so, even when the final putt was holed, she was not sure whether it was for a win or a play-off. The 23-year-old realised she had become India's first woman golfer to win the Asiad gold only after eventual bronze-winner Shannon Tan of Singapore congratulated her.
Recalling those final moments on the 18th green, Pranavi said, "I honestly didn't know I won until Shannon said, 'Well done'. So yeah, I mean, I just knew it was either a putt to win or a putt to force a playoff. All I wanted to do was obviously hole the putt. So I'm glad I could do it."
Pranavi, who was on the Indian team, when they were fourth in China at the last Games, was also thrilled about the team silver.