India experienced a dramatic mix of triumphs and disappointments at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya on Sunday, September 27. Athletics produced a five-medal haul, squash delivered two silver medals and boxing assured three more medals, while India’s individual badminton campaign ended without a podium finish.
At the end of Day 8, India had 37 medals — four gold, 16 silver and 17 bronze — placing the country 12th in the overall medals table, according to the competition figures provided for the day.
Among the standout performances was Anahat Singh’s historic silver medal in women’s squash. The teenager became the first Indian woman to reach an Asian Games squash singles final and subsequently became the first Indian woman to win silver in the event.
India’s athletics contingent also enjoyed one of its strongest days of the Games, with Ancy Sojan, Sarvesh Kushare, Parul Chaudhary, Tejaswin Shankar and Harita Bhadra all making the podium.
Athletics produces five medals for India
Athletics emerged as India’s biggest source of medals on Day 8.
Ancy Sojan opened the medal account with silver in the women’s long jump. Her best effort of 6.53 metres left her just two centimetres short of the gold-medal mark.
India’s Shaili Singh also remained in medal contention but eventually finished fourth with a best jump of 6.42m.
In the men’s high jump, Sarvesh Kushare cleared 2.25m to secure another silver for India. He finished behind the eventual champion on countback.
Parul Chaudhary then delivered a significant performance in the women’s 3000m steeplechase.
Running just one day after her 1500m final, Chaudhary clocked 9:08.67 to win bronze. The performance also improved her national record of 9:12.46 and, according to the supplied competition report, made her the first Indian woman to break the nine-minute-ten-second barrier in the event.
Ankita finished fourth in the same race with a personal best of 9:19.24.
In the decathlon, Tejaswin Shankar finished with 7,934 points to claim bronze. He completed the demanding two-day competition with a strong effort in the final 1500m event.
Harita Bhadra added another bronze in the women’s 200m after clocking 23.20 seconds.
India also had several near-misses. Nandhini Kongan finished sixth in the women’s 100m hurdles, while Manju Rani placed sixth in the women’s marathon race walk. Priyanka Goswami was disqualified, while J Aadarsh Ram missed out on a medal in the high jump.
Anahat Singh creates history despite final defeat
India had two squash singles finalists on Day 8, but neither was able to convert the opportunity into gold.
Abhay Singh lost the men’s singles final to Malaysia’s Ng Eain Yow, going down 11-9, 11-5, 11-5.
Abhay remained competitive during the opening game and held a 5-3 advantage in the third before his Malaysian opponent produced a decisive run.
In the women’s final, Anahat Singh faced defending Asian Games champion Sivasangari Subramaniam.
The Malaysian top seed won 11-4, 11-4, 11-7, ending Anahat’s gold-medal campaign.
Despite the defeat, the result marked a historic achievement for the Indian teenager. Earlier in the tournament, Anahat had staged a dramatic comeback from 0-2 down against Japan’s Satomi Watanabe in the semi-final, saving two match points on her way to the final.
Her silver made her the first Indian woman to reach an Asian Games squash singles final and the first Indian woman to win a silver medal in the event.
The result also meant she did not secure the Olympic quota place associated with the Asian Games qualification pathway for Los Angeles 2028, where squash is scheduled to make its Olympic debut.
After the final, Anahat acknowledged that she was disappointed not to win gold but praised her opponent.
“Yeah, definitely not happy with the colour of the medal, and I don’t think I played my best game today,” Anahat said.
She added:
“But Siva was on fire today — she played really, really well. Hopefully, I’ll have a few other chances next time. There are other ways to make it to the Olympics, and hopefully I can make it through those.”
India ends Asian Games badminton campaign without individual medal
The badminton competition brought a disappointing conclusion for India on Sunday.
PV Sindhu, Unnati Hooda, Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand and Dhruv Kapila-Tanisha Crasto all lost their respective quarter-finals.
Sindhu began strongly against China’s Chen Yufei, winning the opening game 21-11. Chen responded by taking the second 21-18 before completing the comeback with a 21-10 third-game victory.
Unnati Hooda was beaten by Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi.
In women’s doubles, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand lost to Malaysia’s Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan.
In mixed doubles, Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto were eliminated by China’s Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dongping.
The results meant India did not win an individual badminton medal at these Games, the first such occurrence for the country since 2014.
India had won three individual medals at the previous Asian Games in Hangzhou, including the men’s doubles gold won by Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, along with HS Prannoy’s singles bronze and the men’s team silver. At Nagoya, India’s men’s team had secured bronze, but no individual player or pair reached the semi-finals.
Scheduling concerns surround badminton
The results also came amid criticism of the tournament schedule.
Sindhu had played three singles matches within approximately 24 hours, with her third-round match against Tomoka Miyazaki beginning shortly after midnight on Sunday before she returned for her quarter-final against Chen Yufei.
The former world champion described the scheduling as “not really well organised” and raised concerns about recovery time.
HS Prannoy had also previously expressed concerns about aspects of the arrangements, including travel, accommodation and recovery.
The scheduling issue was not limited to Indian players. Chinese women’s doubles player Tan Ning, among the world’s leading players, also publicly questioned the match schedule.
Three Indian boxers assure medals
India added three assured medals through boxing after Ankush, Parveen and Narender won their respective quarter-finals.
In the men’s 80kg category, Ankush defeated Tajikistan’s Nekruz Salimov 5-0 in a unanimous decision.
Ankush controlled the contest with movement and combinations, winning the judges’ scorecards and advancing to the semi-finals.
Parveen followed with another 5-0 victory in the women’s 65kg quarter-final against Uzbekistan’s Navbakhor Khamidova.
Using her reach and counter-punching effectively, Parveen secured her place in the last four and assured herself of a medal.
Narender completed India’s quarter-final sweep in the men’s 90+kg division by defeating Thailand’s Adthapong Saengtep.
The Indian heavyweight’s power led to multiple standing counts before the contest was stopped, sending him into the semi-finals.
There was disappointment for Sachin Siwach, who lost his men’s 60kg quarter-final 0-5 to Japan’s Shunsuke Kitamoto.
Shooting continues with qualification rounds
India’s shooting campaign remained active across several events, with qualification rounds continuing before the decisive finals.
In the women’s 25m pistol team precision qualification, Manu Bhaker, Esha Singh and Rahi Sarnobat combined for 815 points with 20 inner tens.
Esha was the highest-placed Indian in the individual precision standings, sitting sixth with 290 points. Rahi was 15th with 287, while Manu was 16th with 287.
The rapid stage was scheduled to follow on September 28 before the final.
In women’s trap qualification, Neeru finished the opening day in first position. Aashima Ahlawat was 16th and Manisha Keer 24th.
In men’s trap, Kynan Chenai was 11th, followed by Shapath Bharadwaj in 22nd and Ahvar Rizvi in 35th after the opening day.
Other Indian results from Day 8
India also experienced exits and lower finishes across several sports.
- Nandhini Kongan: Sixth in the women’s 100m hurdles.
- Manju Rani: Sixth in the women’s marathon race walk.
- Priyanka Goswami: Disqualified in the marathon race walk.
- Harjinder Kaur: Ninth in the women’s 69kg weightlifting event.
- India women’s team: Eliminated by Uzbekistan in the fencing team sabre quarter-final.
- Sachin Siwach: Lost his men’s 60kg boxing quarter-final.
- Hriday Chheda: Eighth in the individual dressage final.
- Jai Sud: Ninth in the individual dressage final.
- India women’s sepaktakraw team: Lost to South Korea and the Philippines in Group B.
India’s Day 8 medal summary
| Sport | Athlete/Event | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Athletics | Ancy Sojan, women’s long jump | Silver |
| Athletics | Sarvesh Kushare, men’s high jump | Silver |
| Athletics | Parul Chaudhary, women’s 3000m steeplechase | Bronze |
| Athletics | Tejaswin Shankar, decathlon | Bronze |
| Athletics | Harita Bhadra, women’s 200m | Bronze |
| Squash | Abhay Singh, men’s singles | Silver |
| Squash | Anahat Singh, women’s singles | Silver |
| Boxing | Ankush, men’s 80kg | Medal assured |
| Boxing | Parveen, women’s 65kg | Medal assured |
| Boxing | Narender, men’s 90+kg | Medal assured |
What stood out on Day 8
Day 8 produced a particularly varied picture for India’s Asian Games campaign.
Athletics delivered five medals, with Parul Chaudhary’s national-record steeplechase run among the day’s notable performances. Squash produced two historic silver medals, while three Indian boxers moved into the semi-finals and guaranteed additional medals.
At the same time, badminton’s individual competition ended without a medal, with player workload and scheduling becoming a significant talking point.
With further shooting qualification rounds and boxing semi-finals ahead, India enters the next phase of the Games with medals already assured in multiple disciplines.
