Asian Games 2026:

India’s breakthrough medals:

Not all medals are equal, some carry more importance than others due to the tougher competition in the event or the historical significance of the achievement. Here are five such feats by Indians at Aichi-Nagoya:

Women’s Hockey: Gold

India finished on the top of the podium when the event made its debut at the 1982 Asian Games. It took 44 years for an encore as the side led by Salima Tete and guided by Dutch coach Sjoerd Marijne put it across 2024 Paris Olympic silver medallists China in the final.

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What makes the achievement all the more special is that it comes with a direct berth at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games. India had missed out on Paris after finishing narrowly outside the medals at the previous edition in Tokyo. Now, the players, coaches and administrators can put all their focus on doing their best at the Olympics and even vying for a medal.

Wrestling:

Aman Sehrawat (Men’s 57 kg category): gold

By beating reigning world champion Han Chong Song of North Korea in the final, Aman has added another feather in his cap after his bronze at the 2024 Paris Olympics. It is India’s first-ever gold medal in the 57 kg category, one of the most competitive in the world.

Another wrestling medal of note is Nitesh Siwach’s silver in the men’s 97 kg Greco-Roman category, the first for India in 64 years.

Archery:

Kumkum Mohod (Women’s recurve individual): gold

Archery has been there in the Asian Games since 1978 but no Indian woman recurve archer had made the individual final despite the likes of Dola Banerjee and Deepika Kumari featuring in the category. It took 17-year-old Kumkum Mohod to break the jinx. She didn’t just enter the final but also defeated Korean shooter Oh Je-yin to win the gold medal, also taking the Olympic quota.

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The women’s team gold meant India ended the 28-year-old Korean stranglehold in the event, raising Indian hopes two years before the Los Angeles Games.

Shooting:

Neeru Dhanda (Women’s Trap): gold

Rifle and pistol are disciplines in shooting that usually contribute the bulk of Indian medals at the Asian Games, but for the first time in history, it was the shotgun section that won more gold medals than the other two. The main protagonist was 26-year-old Neeru Dhanda from Haryana. The shooter is having an impressive year with a World Cup gold and now two gold at Aichi-Nagoya.

Her trap individual gold was first for India in the discipline since Randhir Singh climbed the top of the podium at the 1978 edition.

Athletics:

Sawan Barwal (Men’s marathon): silver

India had never won an Asian Games marathon medal outside the country. National record holder Sawan Barwal clocked 2:11:37 to win the silver in the event, ending a 44-year-old medal drought. In the process, he improved upon his own national mark, doing so at a big stage.

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India’s previous three medals came in the event had come in 1982 (Bronze) and 1951 (Gold and Bronze), both those editions staged in Delhi.

Barwal’s achievement is all the more praiseworthy as 10 runners on the start list had better personal best timings than him, but yet the Indian managed to better his own and the country’s mark. That too in rainy conditions.