India sign off from Asian Games 2026 with 85 medals, gold rush in cricket, hockey and kabaddi
Twenty-one golds, fourth place on the medal table and title defences in three team sports in Aichi-Nagoya.
· 1 min read
India finished the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya with 85 medals (21 gold, 27 silver, 37 bronze) and fourth place on the medal table, winning both the men's and women's titles in cricket, hockey and kabaddi.
Key takeaways
- India won 85 medals: 21 gold, 27 silver and 37 bronze.
- India finished fourth on the overall medal table.
- Men's and women's teams won gold in cricket, hockey and kabaddi.
- Shooting delivered two Asian records, including Neeru Dhanda's trap gold.
India closed their campaign at the 2026 Asian Games in Japan's Aichi Prefecture and Nagoya with 85 medals, made up of 21 gold, 27 silver and 37 bronze. The haul placed India fourth on the overall medal table when the Games ended on 4 October.
India sent a contingent of 495 athletes across 36 sports. Shooter Manu Bhaker and kabaddi player Pawan Sehrawat carried the flag at the opening ceremony, and trap shooter Neeru Dhanda was the flag bearer at the closing ceremony.
Golden double in three team sports
The standout story was in team sports. India's men's and women's sides both won gold in cricket, hockey and kabaddi, retaining titles in each discipline. The women's cricket team struck India's first gold of the Games, and the men's cricket and hockey teams added golds on the final weekend.
Records on the range
Shooting produced two of the campaign's most notable results. Suruchi Singh and Kamaljeet Sahlot set an Asian record on their way to gold in the mixed 10m air pistol team event, a first Asian Games gold for India in that event. Neeru Dhanda became India's first woman to win trap gold at the Games, also with an Asian record.
In archery, Chikitha Taniparthi and Sahil Jadhav won the mixed team compound gold.
Where India fell short
Not every sport delivered. India's tennis players came home without a medal, the first time that has happened at an Asian Games since 1986. The overall tally was also below India's record haul from the previous edition in Hangzhou.
Attention now turns to qualification cycles and domestic seasons, with the hockey teams already assured of a place at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics through their Asian Games titles.
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