Multi-sport events can be like intriguing long-distance races, where the finish, and a burst of speed at the final bend, often leave a greater lasting impression than the start.
And what a finish it has been for India at the 2026 Asian Games.
The contingent’s gold drive, which oscillated between first and second gear through the opening week, gradually picked up pace and switched to fifth gear as the end approached.
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And off went India zooming up on the medals tally, fuelled by the five gold medals on Saturday to back up Friday’s six. Those 11 top finishes across two days swelled India’s tally to 21 gold, 27 silver, 37 bronze and 85 medals.
India will end the campaign with their second-best showing ever at the continental multi-sport event in terms of volume of gold and medals, after 2023 Hangzhou (28 gold and 106 medals). With the Games closing on Sunday, India are set to sign off from Aichi-Nagoya placed fourth in the medals tally, matching Hangzhou in the final rank and maintaining their position among the top five Asian countries.
All this, despite the contingent for Aichi-Nagoya being trimmed to 495 athletes, as against a squad of 661 for Hangzhou.
{{/usCountry}}All this, despite the contingent for Aichi-Nagoya being trimmed to 495 athletes, as against a squad of 661 for Hangzhou.
{{/usCountry}}To be sure, the cuts were because the sports ministry wanted to limit the squad only to medal contenders, in line with the country’s new norms for selection to multi-disciplinary events that prevent athletes from travelling even on private or federation expenses.
If Friday was about record highs for India, Saturday was about historic firsts. Of Kumkum Mohod, just 17, going with her bow where no Indian had set foot before – at the top of the Asian Games podium in individual recurve archery. Of Pranavi Urs, 23, charting an unparalleled course with her club as the first Indian woman golf Asian Games gold medallist, and only the second since Shiv Kapur in 2002.
Cricket wasn’t going to be left behind in this gold dash, as the men’s team beat Pakistan in the final and got the job done as Asia’s finest. Neither was the men’s hockey team, routing Malaysia 5-1 to secure a Los Angeles Olympics spot and defending its title for the first time. Neither was Aman Sehrawat, whose first gold in the competitive continental challenge further underlined his ever-growing status in world wrestling.
Some sports punched above their weight to add plenty of zip to the late momentum.
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In archery, India grabbed five gold medals – more significantly an unprecedented couple in the recurve section, which has more medal events at the Olympics – to drag the collective might of South Korea in the sport at Aichi-Nagoya.
Three Indian champions had never walked out of the boxing ring in a single Asian Games edition before this. The women’s hockey gold ensured both Indian teams stood as Asian Games champions for the first time ever. The country’s wrestlers grappled with grit to dish out a neat 2-2-2 medal spread, sweeter than the 0-1-5 in 2023. Golf, in which the women’s team also won silver, doubled their tally from Hangzhou while adding a golden touch.
If shooting (3 gold and 15 medals in 2026 compared to 7 gold and 22 medals in 2023) and athletics (1 and 24 in 2026 compared to 6 and 29 in 2023) had maintained parity, if not more, India could well have matched their Hangzhou high.
India’s Japan jamboree, though, wasn’t without its breakout stars and future prospects. There were teenage achievers in Kumkum (two gold and one silver in archery), 18-year-old Anahat Singh (individual silver and team bronze in squash) and 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (gold in cricket). There was women power galore in Neeru Dhanda, the terrific trap shooter, Chikitha Taniparthi, the composed compound archer, Lovlina Borgohain and Parveen Hooda, the dashing boxers, and Mirabai Chanu, the legendary lifter. There were memorable moments on the track and field, by the marathon efforts of Sawan Barwal and Gulveer Singh and the rousing runs of hurdler Vithya Ramraj and her 400m relay pack. There was hope for more to come from the mat and the ring, in the likes of Sujeet Kalkal, Aman and Ankush Panghal.
All of them pulled together to lift India’s drive at these Asian Games, which came on the back of a blazing final flourish.