Asian Games 2026: Golden streak in athletics survives with change in India’s medal mix

India’s golden streak in athletics survived the next Asian Games, but just barely.

After missing out on an athletics gold in Hiroshima in 1994, India has won at least one title in every Asian Games since then. This run was seriously threatened at Aichi-Nagoya, with the athletics team going almost the entire competition without a gold medal. It was the women’s 4x400m relay anchored by Vithya Ramraj that ultimately kept the streak alive.

However, the gold could not mask the significant shift in India’s athletic fortunes. The contingent returned with 24 medals, five less than the 29 won in Hangzhou in 2022. More notably, India’s golds fell from six to one, while bronzes rose from nine to 15.

This is why it is difficult to simply judge the 2026 campaign. India has remained a regular presence on the podium but has been much less successful at the top. Established names dropped to the medal positions, injuries dented some of India’s strongest medal chances, while a new crop of athletes began to emerge. In Nagoya’s rain-hit conditions, India’s athletics campaign was therefore a depth without superiority three years ago.

GOLD TRAFFIC SAVED

For most of the athletics program, India kept adding silver and bronze medals without finding a gold.

Tajinderpal Singh Toor, the defending Asian Games shot put champion, had to settle for silver. Murali Sreeshankar took silver in the long jump, Sarvesh Kushare added one in the high jump and Sawan Barwal finished second in the marathon.

Yashvir Singh stepped in in the javelin in the absence of Neeraj Chopra Gulveer Singh has emerged as one of India’s biggest medal contributors. There were medals in the athletics program, but the highest step remained out of sight.

That changed with the women’s 4×400 meter relay.

The team delivered India’s only athletics gold of the Games, with Vithya Ramraj plays the central role. The result meant that India maintained a remarkable run of winning at least one athletics gold at every Asian Games since 1998. India’s women’s 4x400m relay team bagged India’s only athletics gold. (Image: PTI)

It was an important achievement, but also an indication of how close India were to losing a series that had looked increasingly secure in recent editions.

There were six in Hangzhou, India gold in athletics. He had one in Aichi-Nagoya.

MORE MEDALS BUT LESS UP

The distribution of medals tells the story better than the total number.

India won six gold, 14 silver and nine bronze in 2022. In 2026, there was one gold, eight silver and 15 bronze.

The tally dropped by five, but the bigger change was where those medals came from. Breakdown of India’s athletics medal distribution at the 2022 and 2026 Asian Games. (Image: India Today)

India had six fewer silver medals and five fewer gold medals, while its bronze tally increased by six. The team continued to place on the podium, but settled for third place more often than turning medal opportunities into titles.

Some renowned artists have illustrated this shift.

Toor went from gold to silver. Parul Chaudhary, who won gold in the 5000m and silver in the 3000m steeplechase in 2022, returned with bronze medals in both events. Tejaswin Shankar dropped from silver in decathlon to bronze.

Meanwhile, Ancy Sojan repeated her silver in the women’s long jump, while Vithya Ramraj returned to the podium in the 400m hurdles.

A number of new or less established names also contributed to the medals. Harita Bhadra won bronze in women’s 200m, Prachi took bronze in 400m, Pooja won bronze in high jump, Baranica Elangovan took bronze in pole vault and Manpreet Kaur added another in shot put.

The result was a wider distribution of bronze medals, even though the established Indian medal machinery produced fewer gold and silver medals.

VITHYA RAMRAJ LEADS THE WAY

Vithya was arguably the defining figure of India’s athletics campaign.

She returned from Nagoya with three medals: bronze in the 400m hurdles, silver in the mixed 4x400m relay and gold in the women’s 4x400m relay.

Her performance on the hurdles was particularly significant. She clocked 54.75 seconds to break the long-standing national record, adding another milestone to a campaign in which she has been involved in repeated medal performances.

But it was the relay gold that gave her campaign the most meaning. Vithya Ramraj won three medals at the 2026 Asian Games; gold, silver and bronze. (Image: PTI)

With India’s athletics gold tally still trailing deep in the competition, Vithya and the women’s 4x400m team achieved a result that preserved the country’s gold streak.

The relay program as a whole was one of the brightest areas for India. The women’s 4x400m team won gold, the mixed 4x400m team won silver and the men’s 4x400m team won bronze. India also won bronze in the 4x100m medley relay.

The four relay medals showed that India continues to have depth in the team events, even if the individual program produced far fewer gold medals than in 2022.

GULVEER AND THE NEW WAVE

Another notable feature of the games was Gulveer Singh’s three medal haul.

He won silver in the 10,000 m, silver in the 1,500 m and bronze in the 5,000 m, making him one of the most successful Indian athletes at Aichi-Nagoya.

His performances were particularly important as they offered a glimpse of what could become the next phase of India’s distance running programme.

India has had established names at the top of its distance events at the recent Asian Games, but Gulveer’s ability to compete in three events and return with medals was one of the clearest positives of the campaign.

Yashvir Singh was another athlete who took advantage of the opportunity.

With the absence of Neeraj Chopra, more attention was given to other Indian javelin throwers. Yashvir responded with a personal best of 85.72m to claim silver while Rohit Yadav added bronze with 84.35m.

So even without the defending champion, India still had two athletes on the javelin podium.

Sawan Barwal’s silver in the marathon and Sarvesh Kushar’s silver in the high jump added further depth. These were medals in events where India did not necessarily have the same established dominance as in javelin or shot put.

MAJOR MISTAKES

The campaign also had its share of missed opportunities.

Praveen Chithravel, a previous Asian Games medalist, failed to register a valid mark in the men’s triple jump after picking up an injury. His absence from the medal positions was a significant blow to India’s hopes in the event, where he was one of the country’s established names.

Sreeshankar’s long jump silver also came with a sense of what could have been.

He started well and looked like he could make a bigger jump, but an ankle injury after a clumsy landing limited his ability to push on. In the end, he finished with 8.07 m and settled for silver.

The men’s sprint program was another area where India failed to translate promising qualifying performances into final form.

Gurindervir Singh and Animesh Kujur made it through the 100m heats but failed to make the final. Gurindervir finished fifth in his semi-final in 10.32 seconds while Animesh was seventh in 10.38. Animesh reached the final of the 200 m and finished fifth in 20.80. Animesh Kujur and Gurindervir Singh failed to make it in the men’s 100m sprint. (Image: PTI)

There have also been near misses elsewhere.

Avinash Sable, gold medalist in the 3000m steeplechase in 2022, finished fourth this time. He also did not participate in the men’s 5000m final. Asha Ilango was fourth in the women’s triple jump, while several other athletes finished just outside the medal positions.

These results mattered because India’s gold and silver results were already under pressure. A handful of fourth-place finishes represented medals that never quite materialized.

RAIN AS A BACKGROUND

The weather was another feature of the athletics program in Nagoya.

Rain was a persistent presence for most of the competition, with wet conditions affecting the track and field programme. For the athletes in the jumps and sprints, wet surfaces and changing conditions presented an additional challenge, especially where position and take-off were crucial. The rain did not make it easy for the athletes to compete at their best in the 2026 Asian Games. (Image: AFP)

Sreeshankar’s injury brought the issue into sharper focus after his awkward landing.

But the weather cannot explain India’s overall performance. Every athlete competed on equal terms and the Indian medalists had to negotiate them as well.

Instead, the rain is best seen as part of the context of a contest in which the margins were often thin. The conditions added another layer of difficulty for a team that had already seen several medal chances slip through injuries and a fourth-place finish.

A DIFFERENT INDIA FROM 2022

Comparing the two games, the change is particularly clear.

In Hangzhou, India won 29 athletics medals, including six gold. Performances by Neeraj Chopra, Tajinderpal Singh Toor, Anna Rani, Parul Chaudhary, Avinash Sable and the men’s 4x400m relay gave the campaign a strong climax.

Only one of those six gold medals was exchanged in Aichi-Nagoya.

The silver count also dropped from 14 to eight. But the number of bronzes climbed from nine to 15, suggesting that the overall base of competitive athletes has not disappeared. India’s medal haul in athletics falls compared to 2022. (Image: PTI, Reuters)

India continued to achieve podium finishes at a wide range of events. It lacked the same ability to turn those performances into victories.

This distinction is important when looking at the campaign as a whole.

The established names did not disappear. Toor, Sreeshankar, Ancy and Vithya returned to the stage. Gulveer emerged as the major medal contributor. Yashvir stepped into the limelight in a javelin. Sawan and Sarvesh added silver medals while a host of athletes contributed bronze.

The problem was that too many of these feats stopped short of gold.

THE BIG PICTURE

India’s athletics campaign in Aichi-Nagoya ultimately lies somewhere between disappointment and promise.

The numbers were clearly down. Twenty-four medals compared to 29 in 2022 and one gold compared to six is ​​a significant drop. The team also lost some of its biggest individual medal opportunities to injury or near misses.

However, the campaign was not short of performances to build on.

Vithya Ramraj became one of the faces of the Games which ended with three medals and a national record. Gulveer Singh showed remarkable range with three medals of his own. Yashvir Singh produced a personal best in the javelin to help India retain their position on the podium in the absence of Neeraj Chopra.

The relay teams continued to provide depth, while a number of younger or less established athletes stepped up.

And perhaps most importantly, the gold streak survived.

India’s athletics program leaves Aichi-Nagoya with fewer medals and significantly fewer titles than it did three years ago. But he also leaves with a wider group of athletes who have now experienced the pressure of the big games and come back with medals.

The challenge is clear: turn that depth into more wins.

For now, the women’s 4x400m relay ensured that India’s golden streak in athletics continued. The rest of the campaign showed how much work remains to make this series feel safe again.

– The end