Asian Games 2026 Day 3: India win first gold, secure medals in badminton, wushu on action-packed Tuesday

Indian women’s team after winning the gold medal at the Asian Games. (PTI Photo) NEW DELHI: India’s continental dominance in women’s cricket remained unchallenged as the side bagged the country’s first gold medal at the ongoing Asian Games, while the men’s badminton team produced a stunning performance against Japan to secure a podium finish in an action-packed Aichi-Nagoya on Tuesday.Harmanpreet Kaur and Co. beat Sri Lanka by 147 runs in the women’s cricket final to successfully defend their Asian Games title, taking India’s medal tally to seven and finally adding the much-awaited gold to the country.India also secured medals in men’s badminton and wushu, while men’s hockey continued its goal-scoring spree with another emphatic win, crushing Sri Lanka 16-1 in a Group A match.There were contrasting fortunes in shooting and table tennis as Indian boxers continued their unbeaten run and gymnast Pranati Nayak qualified for the vault final.Asian Games full coverage | Schedule | Tally Medal

Women’s cricket brought India its first gold

The Indian women’s cricket side produced another commanding performance to retain the title at the Asian Games.After opting to bat, India posted a mammoth 216/3, their highest total in women’s cricket at the Asian Games. Smriti Mandhana led the charge with a 45-ball 79 while Richa Ghosh provided late success with an unbeaten 49 off just 22 balls.Shafali Verma contributed 48 off 29 balls as India dominated the gold medal encounter from the start. The bowlers then finished the job, dismissing Sri Lanka for just 69 to seal a 147-run victory.This triumph gave India its first gold at the Aichi-Nagoya Games and second women’s cricket gold at the Asian Games.READ ALSO: Who is Roshibina Devi? Wushu star who faced selection drama before securing third straight medal

Men’s Badminton clinched a medal after Japan’s stunning victory

The men’s badminton team, silver medalists from the previous year, produced a memorable 3-0 victory over Japan to reach the semi-finals and secure at least a bronze medal.Lakshya Sen secured the breakthrough after recovering from a difficult start against world number seven Kodai Naraok. The Indian shuttler lost the opening game and trailed 14-19 in the decider before mounting a remarkable comeback to win 11-21, 21-5, 21-19.Satwiksiraj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty then beat former world champions Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi 21-18, 24-22 to put India 2-0 up.Ayush Shetty finished the job with a comprehensive 21-10, 21-19 victory over world No. 16 Koki Watanabe to book India’s place in the semi-finals.The result also helped the men’s side atone for the women’s team’s quarter-final upset earlier in the day.

Avoid women’s badminton

The Indian women’s badminton team suffered a 1-3 defeat against Japan in the quarter-finals.Two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu gave India a good start before eventually losing 23-21, 18-21, 6-21 to world number three Akane Yamaguchi.Unnati Hooda then lost 16-21, 18-21 against 2022 world junior champion Tomoka Miyazaki.Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand kept India alive with a 21-17, 21-16 win over Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto. However, Tanvi Sharma was unable to make a decision and lost 12-21, 10-21 to former world champion Nozomi Okuhara as Japan sealed the tie.

Roshibina secures another wushu medal

Roshibina Devi Naorem continued her remarkable run at the Asian Games by securing her third medal in a row.Manipuri wushu player defeats Macao, China’s Chu Man Sin in women’s 60kg Sanda quarterfinals at Aichi Prefectural Martial Arts Hall. The win took Roshibina into the semi-finals and guaranteed her at least a bronze.Roshibina won bronze at the 2018 Jakarta Games and followed up with silver at the 2023 Hangzhou Games.Her latest medal comes after a selection controversy surrounding the Indian team, with Roshibina eventually replacing Divyanshi Choudhary after the federation cited an injury.

The hockey side continues with a goal fest

Men’s hockey continued their dominant start to the competition with another massive victory, beating Sri Lanka 16-1 in their second Group A match.Jugraj Singh scored four goals, Abhishek Singh and Dilpreet Singh completed hat tricks. Harmanpreet Singh also scored twice as India maintained the pressure throughout the contest.The defending champions had earlier opened their campaign with a 13-1 win over Indonesia. These two wins gave India a staggering +27 goal difference.

Boxers maintain their invincibility

Indian boxers also enjoyed a productive day.Sakshi Chaudhary pulled off one of the notable upsets of the day by beating Paris Olympic bronze medalist Aira Villegas in the women’s 51kg category to enter the pre-quarterfinals.Jadumani Singh also advanced to the last 16 in the men’s 55kg category by defeating Nepal’s Chandra Bahadur Thapa 5-0.

Pranati Nayak reaches the vault final

Gymnast Pranati Nayak qualified for the women’s individual vault final after finishing seventh among 19 competitors in the qualifiers.The three-time Asian Gymnastics Championships bronze medalist posted a total score of 12.916 to qualify for the eight-gymnast final, scheduled for September 24.

Mixed luck in table tennis

The Indian women’s table tennis team advanced to the quarterfinals after defeating Thailand 3-2.However, the men’s side suffered a 0–3 defeat against South Korea in the round of 16 and exited the competition. The loss followed their defeat to Iran in the group stage.

Another medal misses the mark

It was a rare day of disappointment for the Indian shooters.Elavenil Valarivan and Parth Mane finished fourth in the mixed 10m air rifle team final after qualifying in second place. The pair, who have already won medals in other events, were unable to reproduce their form from the qualification and were eliminated with a score of 376.3.However, there was some encouragement in skeet as Anantjeet Singh Naruka moved into a four-way tie for the lead after four rounds of qualifying. The 28-year-old shot 96 out of 100 on Tuesday and now has one more round of 25 targets left to reach the round of 16.

More mixed results across disciplines

The Indian campaign had mixed results elsewhere.In fencing, Chetan Bhatt lost the bronze medal match in the 84kg category. The swimmers survived another difficult ascent, the men’s 4×100 m relay finished eighth and last in the final.Despite these setbacks, Tuesday proved to be another big day for India in Aichi-Nagoya. The women’s cricket title brought the country its first gold, while medals were secured in men’s badminton and wushu. As the hockey side continued to dominate and the boxers made progress, India ended the day with momentum in several disciplines.