Asian Games 2026 Medals Day 1: Where India stand after two shooting silvers in Aichi-Nagoya

Medalists after the women’s 10m air rifle team final. (PTI Photo) NEW DELHI: India ended the opening day of the medal race at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games with two silver medals in shooting and after a day that also saw medal hauls, big wins in hockey and cricket, and encouraging starts in badminton and table tennis, India finished 10th in the medal standings.India’s first medals came in the women’s 10m air rifle event, with Elavenil Valarivan playing a major role in both. Valarivan, Sonam Uttam Maskar and Games debutant Vidarsa Vinod jointly won silver in the team event before Valarivan added another silver in the individual event later in the day.The individual medal was particularly significant for the 27-year-old, who had missed the podium in her previous two appearances at the Asian Games. Valarivan shot 252.4 in the final to finish 0.6 points behind Japan’s Hinata Taichi, who won gold with an Asian Games record 253.0. South Korean Ban Hyojin took the bronze with 230.4.Valarivan led for much of the final and was looking for a way to challenge for the gold before three lost shots into the closing stages allowed Taichi to turn the match around. Despite the disappointment of narrowly missing out on the top spot, her two silvers made her one of India’s best performers on day one.

China leads, closely followed by Japan

China finished top of the medal table on Day 1, collecting 11 gold, six silver and three bronze medals for a total of 20. Hosts Japan were second with six gold, seven silver and seven bronze, also off to a good start on home soil.The Republic of Korea finished third with 14 medals, including four golds, while Kazakhstan and Thailand rounded out the top five. Kazakhstan won three gold and two bronze medals out of a total of five, while Thailand’s three medals were all gold.India’s two silver medals placed it 10th at the end of the opening day. The shooting also offered an early boost to the discipline that brought India a record 22 medals at the Hangzhou Asian Games.Apart from the medal tally, India enjoyed several other notable results. Suchika Tariyal secured at least a bronze in the women’s 60kg traditional MMA event after the semi-finals, while the women’s cricket team stormed into the final after defeating Bangladesh, where Shafali Verma scored her first T20I century.The hockey teams also got off to a strong start, with the women beating Uzbekistan 19-0 and the men beating Indonesia 13-1. India’s badminton and women’s table tennis teams also started with victories, setting themselves up for more medal opportunities as the games move into the next phase.

2026 Asian Games medal tally after day one

RankingNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal1China1163202Japan677203South Korea437144Kazakhstan30255Thailand30036Myanmar11137Macau, China11028Kuwait10129Chinese 3kong20IND0202 China0202