Asian Games Day 2 Wrap: Guns Ablaze, 700g MMA Fighter Heart
India added four more medals on the second full day of competition at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, taking their tally to six, but the hunt for gold continued.
Three of them came from the range on Monday, September 21, where India once again showed their mettle. Himanshu Dhillon, a former wrestler, won the silver and Rudrankksh Patil won bronze in the men’s 10m air rifle individual event after the pair teamed up with Parth Man to win silver in the team event.
There was also history in the cage. Suchika Tariyal became India’s first Asian Games mixed martial arts medalist, but the 36-year-old’s bronze came with a painful twist. After her semi-final against Singapore’s Teo Hui Hoon ended in a draw, her opponent sent a weight-based tiebreak to the final by just 700 grams.
At the end of Day 2, India had four silver and two bronze medals and was placed 12th in the medal table. The absence of a gold medal continued to keep India off the top of the rankings, with China leading the way with 23 gold medals.
SHOOTING GET 3 MORE
The shooting range once again proved to be India’s most productive arena.
The men’s 10m air rifle team of Dhillon, Patil and Mane have already secured silver, finishing with a total score of 1890.1. China won gold with 1899.0 while South Korea took bronze with 1884.2.
There was more in the individual final.
China’s Sheng Lihao, the Olympic champion and defending Asian Games champion, produced another commanding performance to win the gold. Dhillon finished second and Patil third, giving India two more medals. Dhillon’s silver was particularly significant for the 20-year-old, who has quickly moved up from the junior circuit to the seniors.
Dhillon finished with 252.4 points while Patil’s score of 230.9 was good enough for bronze. Sheng’s winning score of 254.2 underlined a good margin at the top of a competition in which India had three finalists.
The three medals took India’s shooting tally at the Games to five, after the country won two silver medals in the women’s 10m air rifle event on the opening day. Shooting thus accounted for five of India’s six medals by the end of the second day.
But there was still no gold to show for India’s strong start.
700 GRAMS SUCHIKA HEART CRUSH
Suchika ends up with bronze medal in MMA (Screengrab by SonyLIV)
If the shooting gallery offered India three medals, the MMA cage evoked the most complex emotions of the day.
Suchika Tariyal made history already by reaching the traditional women’s 60 kg semi-finals. As MMA made its debut at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, her semi-final performance guaranteed India its first medal in the sport.
What followed was one of the strangest endings to the games.
Tariyal’s match against Singapore’s Teo Hui Hoon went into regulation and another one-minute period without a winner. The original decision went against the Indian, but the Indian camp appealed. After the match was reviewed by three additional referees, the result was changed to a draw.
That still did not advance Tariyala to the finals.
Under Asian MMA rules, a tie may be settled using a number of tiebreak criteria in relevant circumstances, including warnings, advice and, if they remain the same, the fighters’ pre-competition weights. Teo was about 700 grams lighter at the morning weigh-in, and that proved decisive. She advanced to the gold, while Tariyal won the bronze.
Tariyal was visibly upset after the decision and broke down in tears on the mat. She later said she believed she had done enough to win the competition and questioned the fairness of the result.
Disappointment should not obscure what she has achieved.
Tariyal, who has represented India in judo and kurash and is the 2024 World Ju-Jitsu champion, became the country’s first MMA medalist at the Asian Games. At the age of 36, she added another big chapter to a combat sports career that crossed several disciplines.
WUSHU STARS IN CHASE FOR MEDALS
There could be more success in combat sports in India.
Roshibina Devi and Aryan both reached the wushu quarter-finals, leaving them one win away from securing medals.
Roshibina, competing in the women’s 60kg Sanda competition, beat Bangladesh’s Most Khatun to reach the top eight. She already owns two Asian Games medals – silver in Hangzhou in 2022 and bronze in Jakarta in 2018 – and is now aiming for a third consecutive podium finish.
Meanwhile, Aryan defeated Afghanistan’s Shahzad Safi 2-0 in the men’s 56kg category to reach the quarterfinals. The youngster has a strong junior resume, including two junior world titles and an Asian junior title, and now has a chance to add an Asian Games medal to that collection.
Both will return on Tuesday with a place in the semi-finals and therefore a certain medal.
WOMEN’S HOCKEY TEAM ON SONG
The Indian women’s hockey team continued their strong start to the Games, following up with a 19-0 win over Uzbekistan and a 17-1 demolition of Indonesia.
The result took India’s score to 36 in two matches. Deepika, Rutuja Dadaso Pisal and Navneet Kaur scored hat-tricks while Deepika’s three goals took her tournament tally to 11 after just two matches.
India scored seven times from penalty corners and added 10 field goals against Indonesia. Deepika, who scored eight in the opening match, continued to look almost unstoppable in front of the wicket.
The women’s team have now won two from two in Pool B and have made their medal ambitions clear without having to rely on close finishes in both matches.
KABADDI CHAMPS START WITH WINS
The Indian men’s and women’s kabaddi team also started their title defense with comfortable victories.
The men’s team beat hosts Japan 49-24 in their Group A opener, with India’s attacking unit putting the hosts under pressure from the start. Ashu Malik, Arjun Deshwal, Devank Dalal and Ayan Lohchab were among those to impress as the defending champions opened their campaign with a convincing win.
The women’s team was similarly dominant, defeating Bangladesh 42:21. India led 21-10 at half-time before maintaining control after the break. The comfortable lead also allowed the coaching staff to rotate players and give the team valuable playing time.
Both teams came to Aichi-Nagoya as defending champions, so the opening win provided the kind of start expected from the reigning title holders.
KNOCKOUT TABLE TENNIS TEAMS
The Indian table tennis teams also enjoyed a productive day.
The women’s team outclassed Pakistan 3-0 to secure their place in the quarterfinals. Sutirtha Mukherjee, 17-year-old Syndrela Das and Sreeja Akula won their singles matches without losing. India started their campaign with a 3-2 win over Singapore to remain unbeaten in the group stage.
The men’s team responded to their defeat against Iran with a 3-0 victory over Pakistan. Harmeet Desai, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Payas Jain all won in straight games allowing India to complete the tie without losing a single match. India finished behind Iran in Group F but ensured they did enough to reach the pre-quarterfinal round.
SHUTTLERS THRASH BANGLADESH
The Indian men’s badminton team also advanced to the knockout stage after a 3-0 win over Bangladesh.
Lakshya Sen opened with a 21-4, 21-12 win over Ayman Ibn Jaman before Ayush Shetty beat Gourab Singh 21-4, 21-13. Kidambi Srikanth then completed the clean sheet with a straight games win over Al Amin Jumar.
India now face hosts Japan in the quarter-finals on Tuesday. This will be a significantly tougher test, with Japan beating India in the team competition at the Badminton Asia Team Championships earlier this year.
SWIMMERS KEEP FIGHTING
Swimming, meanwhile, provided little relief.
Srihari Nataraj reached the 50m breaststroke final but finished 10th in 25.52 seconds, slower than the 25.37 he clocked in the heats. China’s Xu Jiayu won gold in a Games record 24.04 seconds.
Nataraj’s fellow Indian Rishabh Das narrowly missed out on the final, finishing 11th overall in 25.41 seconds. Akash Mani and Geetesh Shah failed to advance from the heats of the 50m freestyle, while Danush Suresh missed out on the finals of the 100m backstroke. The Indian men’s 4x200m freestyle relay team of Sajan Prakash, Dhakshan Shashikumar, Vedaant Madhavan and Aneesh Sunil also failed to advance, finishing ninth among 13 teams.
So India’s wait for another Asian Games swimming medal continues.
INDIA IN ASIAN GAMES: KEY RESULTS OF DAY 2
Medal
- Himanshu Dhillon — Men’s 10m Air Rifle
- India – Men’s 10m Air Rifle Team (Himanshu Dhillon, Rudranksh Patil, Parth Mane)
- Rudranksh Patil — Men’s 10m Air Rifle
- Suchika Tariyal — traditional female MMA 60 kg
Until the next round
- Roshibina Devi – Wushu Women’s Sanda 60kg – Quarter Finals
- Aryan — Wushu Men’s Sanda 56kg — Quarterfinals
- India Men – Team Badminton – Quarter Finals
- India Women – Table Tennis Team – Quarter Finals
– The end
Issued by:
Akshay Ramesh
Published on:
21 Sep 2026 19:23 IST