Asian Games 2026: India’s biggest hits and misses after 85-medal campaign

India signed off from the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in fourth place with 85 medals — 21 gold, 27 silver and 37 bronze.

The tally fell short of the record 106 medals India won at the Hangzhou Asian Games, but a strong finish in the final days helped lift the campaign and added several memorable moments to the country's sporting story.

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There were historic golds, long-awaited breakthroughs and stirring comebacks. There were also some familiar disappointments, including a first tennis medal drought in four decades.

Here is a look at India's biggest hits and misses from Aichi-Nagoya.

The hits

1. Archery: India’s biggest gold rush

Archery emerged as one of India's most successful disciplines when it came to gold medals, with five top-podium finishes.

The men's and women's compound teams, mixed compound team, women's recurve team and 17-year-old Kumkum Mohod's individual recurve triumph all contributed to India's gold haul.

Mohod's victory was the standout moment. She became the first Indian woman to win an individual recurve gold at the Asian Games.

She added a silver in the mixed recurve team event alongside Dhiraj Bommadevara, while the women's recurve team's gold gave Indian archery another major boost.

2. Hockey: Two golds and a crucial Olympic boost

Indian hockey delivered on the biggest stage.

The women's team ended a 44-year wait for an Asian Games gold, while Harmanpreet Singh's men's side retained its title with a 5-1 victory over Malaysia in the final.

The two triumphs also carried significance beyond Aichi-Nagoya, with India's performances securing qualification opportunities for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.

For the men's team, the final was also the perfect way to close India's medal campaign. The 5-1 win brought home the country's 21st gold.

3. Cricket: Both teams retain their titles

India's cricket teams delivered exactly what was expected of them, with both sides successfully defending their Asian Games crowns.

The women's team retained its title, while the men's side beat Pakistan by 19 runs in the final.

Abhishek Sharma's aggressive batting and Tilak Varma's unbeaten 51 were among the highlights of India's victory.

The men's final also became one of the defining sporting occasions of the Games, with the India-Pakistan rivalry adding another layer to an already high-profile contest.

4. Boxing: Three gold medals

India's boxers produced one of the strongest late surges of the Games, collecting three gold medals.

Lovlina Borgohain, Parveen Hooda and Ankush Panghal emerged champions in their respective categories.

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For Lovlina, the victory carried particular significance. She became only the second Indian woman, after Mary Kom, to win an Asian Games boxing gold.

5. Wrestling: Aman Sehrawat's comeback

Aman Sehrawat's gold was one of the more compelling individual stories of India's campaign.

The wrestler had gone through a difficult period after the Paris Olympics, dealing with illness, absences and a loss of motivation.

His return to the top at Aichi-Nagoya turned the gold into more than just another medal. It became a comeback story.

India finished with two wrestling golds, along with silver and bronze medals.

6. Pranavi Urs makes golf history

Pranavi Urs created history by winning India's first women's individual golf gold at the Asian Games.

India also claimed silver in the women's team event, making golf one of the country's notable success stories at Aichi-Nagoya.

7. Kabaddi: India retain their continental dominance

Kabaddi once again proved to be one of India's most dependable sources of gold.

Both the men's and women's teams won their respective events, allowing India to retain both titles.

The double triumph reinforced the country's long-standing dominance in a sport where it remains the benchmark at the Asian Games.

8. Athletics: The biggest medal contributor

Athletics was India's biggest contributor by overall medal count, producing 24 medals.

The haul included silver medals for Ancy Sojan, Sarvesh Kushare, Sawan Berwal, Gulveer Singh and others, alongside a number of bronze medals across track and field events.

The sport also produced several historic moments.

Baranica Elangovan won India's first-ever Asian Games medal in pole vault, while Vithya Ramraj secured a national-record bronze in the 400m hurdles.

There was, however, one obvious area for improvement: gold-medal conversion.

Despite producing 24 medals, athletics managed only one gold, underlining the gap between consistently reaching the podium and finishing at the top.

The flops

1. Tennis: A historic medal drought

Tennis was arguably India's biggest disappointment at Aichi-Nagoya.

For the first time in four decades, India failed to win a single Asian Games tennis medal.

That made the campaign particularly striking given the country's strong record in the sport at the continental event and its history of producing medal-winning performances.

2. Shooting: Too many near misses before the turnaround

Shooting eventually finished with 15 medals, including three golds, making it one of India's biggest medal-producing disciplines.

But the campaign did not begin smoothly.

Indian shooters endured several fourth-place finishes and missed opportunities before Suruchi Singh and Kamaljeet ended the wait for a shooting gold.

Tilottama Sen and Vidarsa Vinod, for instance, finished fourth and fifth respectively in the women's 50m rifle 3P individual final.

The final medal tally was impressive, but given India's depth and expectations in shooting, the early misses left the team wanting more.

3. Badminton: A campaign below expectations

Badminton returned with just one medal — a bronze in the men's team event.

That was a modest haul for a sport that has produced some of India's biggest Asian Games and Olympic stars.

The campaign was also overshadowed by criticism of the organisation and scheduling of the Games. H.S. Prannoy, who was part of the men's team that won bronze, described the experience as “sad” for athletes and criticised the accommodation and scheduling arrangements.

4. Equestrian: A quiet disappointment

Equestrian was another discipline that failed to make an impact for India.

Despite India's pedigree in the sport and strong performances at previous Asian Games, the contingent returned without a medal.

The result added to the list of disciplines where India could not turn experience and participation into podium finishes.

5. Table tennis, fencing, esports and rowing fall short

Several other disciplines failed to make a significant impact in Aichi-Nagoya.

Esports was among the clearest disappointments, with India failing to win a medal across its events. Fencing and volleyball also finished without a podium finish.

Table tennis managed only one bronze, a modest return for a sport whose profile has grown significantly in India in recent years.

Rowing produced a solitary bronze.

Individually, these results may not have defined India's campaign, but collectively they highlighted the gaps that remain outside the country's strongest medal-producing sports.

India ultimately left Aichi-Nagoya with 85 medals. The number was below the Hangzhou record, but the campaign still produced historic golds, breakthrough performances and several signs of progress.

The next challenge is to turn those individual successes into greater depth — and to ensure that the sports that underperformed this time return stronger at the next major multi-sport event.