Asian Games Day 1 wrap: Elavenil shoots two, Suchika makes memorable MMA debut

ByTech Word News

India’s Asian Games campaign began with two silver medals, a historic MMA medal, a cricket final and some emphatic hockey victories. But the opening day in Aichi-Nagoya was about more than the medals India collected. These included Elavenil Valarivan coming within 0.6 points of an Asian Games record, Suchika Tariyal becoming a medalist in the sport on his debut and Shafali Verma producing a century never seen at these Games.

By the end of Sunday, India had won two medals and secured at least two more, with Elavenil claiming two silvers in the women’s 10m air rifle and Suchika securing a bronze after advancing to the semi-finals of the women’s 60kg traditional MMA event. The women’s cricket team added another gold medal opportunity when they dismantled Bangladesh in the semi-finals, while both hockey teams opened their campaigns with huge wins.

There was also disappointment. Quimcy Dsouza came painfully close to two teqball bronze medalsthe Indian men’s table tennis team suffered a setback and there were no medals in wushu. But the opening day offered plenty of evidence that India’s campaign will extend well beyond the range.

ELAVENIL TURN DISAPPOINTMENT INTO DOUBLE

Elavenil Valarivan won the women’s 10m individual air rifle final, but the medal came after a performance that kept her in contention for gold until the last shot.

The Indian shot 252.4 to finish just 0.6 points behind Japan’s Hinata Taichi, who won gold with an Asian Games record 253.0. South Korea’s Olympic champion Ban Hyojin won bronze with 230.4. Elavenil led for large stretches of the final and entered the deciding stages with gold firmly within reach. However, Hinata delivered a stronger finishing shot to win the title.

There was silver Elavenil is the second day of the day. Earlier she teamed up with Sonam Uttam Maskar and Vidarsa Kochalumkal Vinod win the women’s 10m air rifle team silver. India’s 1898.0 put them second behind China’s 1904.2, with hosts Japan taking the bronze at 1897.1.

Sonam also reached the singles final after scoring the highest qualifying score among the Indian trio, but finished sixth. Vidars’ 630.4 in qualifying helped India secure the team medal.

It was a day of success and what could have been for Elavenil. She missed the Olympic final in Paris and arrived in Aichi-Nagoya with the weight of disappointment behind her. On Sunday, she found herself in contention for medals twice and walked away with silver twice. India’s Sonam, Elavenil and Vidarsa on the podium in the women’s 10m air rifle team competition (NRAI photo)

HISTORICAL MMADIEL SECURED

Suchika Tariyalova’s medal came from a completely different path.

The thirty-six-year-old player defeated the Mongolian Altanchimeg Baigalmaa 2:0 in the traditional women’s quarter-final under 60 kg. to secure India a medal in MMA, making its debut at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya. She will face Singaporean Teo Hui Hoon in Monday’s semi-finals. Both defeated semi-finalists receive bronze medals, thus Suchika has already secured a place on the podium.

“This medal means a lot to me because me and my coaches worked very hard to get here. My family spent a lot of money on me and gave me all possible support to help me become a good MMA player. So this medal means more than my life,” Suchika told SAI Media.

Her path to this moment was anything but straightforward. A native of Rohtak, Suchika started judo at the age of 12 after a molestation incident motivated her to learn the sport for self-defense. She became an eight-time national judo champion and won gold at the 2019 Commonwealth Judo Championships and South Asian Games. She also represented India at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

Her MMA journey began in 2017, but she took a seven-year hiatus from the sport to continue competing in judo and jiu-jitsu. She eventually returned to MMA and was inducted into the Sports Ministry’s Target Asian Games Group earlier this year.

However, there was an unforgettable moment on opening day. The second MMA fighter in the Indian contingent, Varun Sanyal, has been declared medically unfit after passing out in a sauna at the Asian Games. His withdrawal came after he had already endured more than 10 hours of accommodation-related chaos.

SHAFALI’S HISTORICAL HUNDRED

If shooting delivered the medals and MMA delivered the history, Shafali Verma delivered the fireworks.

The opener smashed an unbeaten 100 off 49 balls as India beat Bangladesh by 114 runs to reach the women’s cricket gold medal match. Shafali became the first female cricketer to score a century in Asian Games cricket, with her innings containing three fours and nine sixes. India posted 195/4 before bowling Bangladesh out for 81 in 15.4 overs.

She reached her fifty in just 26 balls before dismantling the attack. The second half of her innings was a flurry of clean hitting, with Bangladesh unable to contain her once she started clearing the ropes regularly. Her 49-ball hundred equaled Harmanpreet Kaur’s record for the fastest T20I set by an Indian woman, which she set against New Zealand in 2018.

The nine sixes also equaled the women’s T20I record shared by West Indies stars Deandra Dottin and Hayley Matthews.

India @ Asian Games: Highlights from Day 1

Harmanpreet contributed 40 and Smriti Mandhana 37 off 19 as India posted a dismal total. Deepti Sharma then produced a bowling performance in the innings taking 3/7 in 2.4 overs while Nandani Sharma also claimed three wickets.

India will face Sri Lanka in Tuesday’s final, giving them an opportunity to defend the gold medal they won at the 2023 Asian Games.

Sri Lanka booked their place in the final by chasing Pakistan down for 177/4 in the second semi-final. Chamari Athapaththu led the chase with an unbeaten 83 to take Sri Lanka to 178/2 in 17.5 overs. So Pakistan and Bangladesh will compete for the bronze medal.

GOAL DIRECTION IN HOCKEY

Indian women made one of the loudest statements of the day when they thrashed Uzbekistan 19-0 in their opening Group B match.

Deepika Sehrawat was the star, scoring eight goals as India overwhelmed the opposition from the opening whistle. The result gave the women’s team an emphatic start to their campaign.

The men were just as ruthless. India beat Indonesia 13-1 in their opening Group A match, with Dilpreet Singh scoring four goals. Shilanand Lakra and Sukhjeet Singh added two each as India began their title defense with a crushing victory.

PV SINDHU STARS ON DAY 1

The women’s badminton team needed only three matches to do so overcome Kazakhstan 3-0 in the round of 16.

PV Sindhu opened with a 21-7, 21-9 win over Kamila Smagula before Unnati Hooda defeated Alissa Kulesh 21-7, 21-10. Tanvi Sharma then completed the clean sweep with a 21-5, 21-10 victory over Diana Namenova.

None of the three singles matches lasted more than 25 minutes, meaning India did not need any of their doubles pairs.

The reward is a much tougher quarter-final against Japan on September 22, where progress to the medal rounds is up for grabs.

TABLE TENNIS: WOMEN STUNNING SINGAPORE

The Indian women’s table tennis team started strongly, beating Indonesia 3-0 before coming back to win 3-2 over Singapore.

The men also opened with a 3-0 win over Indonesia, but later suffered a setback against Iran. It was a reminder that while some of India’s biggest teams have opened the games with emphatic victories, the margins become significantly thinner as the competition progresses.

TEQBALL DOUBLE HEARTBREAK

There was no medal for India in teqball, despite Quimcy Dsouza coming close twice.

In the women’s singles bronze, she lost to Japan’s Yuina Sakamoto in two games, both ending 11–12. Dsouza then returned alongside Mohamed Anas Beg for the mixed doubles bronze medal match, where the Indian pair lost 0–2 to Vietnam.

India also ended the day without a medal in wushu. Suraj Singh Mayanglambam finished 11th in the men’s changquan final.

RESULTS AT A GLANCE DAY 1

Medal

  • Elavenil Valarivan – Women’s air rifle 10m silver
  • Elavenil Valarivan, Sonam Uttam Maskar and Vidarsa Vinod – Women’s 10m Air Rifle Team Silver

Medals secured

  • The women’s cricket team beat Bangladesh by 114 runs in the semi-finals to qualify for the gold medal match.
  • MMA: Suchika Tariyal has reached the traditional women’s 60kg MMA semi-final, making her debut at the Asian Games. In the quarter-finals, she beat Mongolia’s Altanchimeg Baigalmaa 2:0.

Love of the heart

  • Quimcy D’Souza – Lost bronze medal in women’s singles teqball
  • Quimcy D’Souza and Anas Baig – Lost teqball mixed doubles bronze medal match

Commendable shows

  • Swimming: Rishabh Das finished fifth in the men’s 100m backstroke to secure sixth place in the final.

Positive starts

  • Indian women beat Kazakhstan 3-0 in women’s badminton
  • India’s hockey team beat Indonesia 13-1 in the group stage match
  • Indian hockey team defeated Uzbekistan 19-0 in the group stage match
  • Table Tennis: India women’s team defeated Indonesia 3-0 before a formidable Singapore 3-2.
  • Table Tennis: Men’s team India defeated Indonesia 3-0 before losing to Iran 0-3.

– The end

Issued by:

Akshay Ramesh

Published on:

20 Sep 2026 19:11 IST