Latest Updates on Asian Games 2026

The Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) on Thursday said an athlete has been sent back from the ongoing Asian Para Games in Japan for alleged misconduct and will face "stringent" action, including a possible life ban, after the conclusion of the mega-event at the end of this week. Without naming the athlete or detailing the nature of his offence, the PCI said its primary focus right now is to support the contingent as it continues a strong run in the Games that will conclude on Saturday. "The Paralympic Committee of India maintains a zero-tolerance policy towards any form of sexual misconduct or behaviour that violates the dignity, safety and rights of others," it stated. "In the present matter, the Chef de Mission (CDM) has recommended the strictest disciplinary action, including a lifetime ban against the athlete concerned. The athlete has been sent back to India from Japan. "Further action will be taken by the competent authorities in accordance with the applicable rules and ...

India's Nitesh Kumar and Naveen Sivakumar clinched gold medals in men's singles SL3 and SL4 respectively in the badminton competition at the Asian Para Games here on Friday. Nitesh produced a clinical performance to beat compatriot Pramod Bhagat 21-18, 21-16 in a clash between two Paralympic gold medallists. "Very happy to win the Asian Games gold medal. Last time I was close, I was leading 19-16 in the third set, and then I lost. So this time, winning it and again winning in two sets against Pramod is, of course, very special, and I think it's one of the rarest of the rare things to see," said Nitesh, the Paris Paralympic gold medallist. Naveen then showcased his prowess to beat Indonesia's Fredy Setiawan 21-9, 21-17 in 36 minutes to claim the top prize. Bhagat, who had won gold in the 2018 and 2022 editions, had to settle for silver. "It doesn't feel that good because I had won two consecutive gold medals at the Asian Games, and I was trying to win a third gold here. I had ...

India's Sandeep and Haney won gold medals with world record performances in the men's 400m T64 and men's javelin throw F37/38 events respectively at the Asian Para Games here on Friday. Sandeep clocked 52.28 seconds, a world record, to win the 400m T64 final at the Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium. He finished 0.85 seconds ahead of Saudi Arabia's Nour Alsana (53.13, season's best). Indian compatriot Ajay Kumar took bronze in 53.61, a Games Record, while China's Huang Ruihua was fourth with a personal best of 54.39. In the javelin throw F37/38 final at the same venue, Haney produced a world record throw of 60.49m for gold, scoring 1116 Raza points. Iran's Hormoz Seidikazpounji took silver with a personal best of 50.68m (1009 points), while China's Yu Chengjie claimed bronze with an Asian record 53.66m (943 points). India have thus reached 100 medals in total in this edition of the sporting extravaganza. In the javelin event, the F37 and F38 classes compete together and are .

The teenage Indian pair of Sheetal Devi and Payal Nag clinched a silver medal after losing the compound women's doubles final at the Asian Para Games here on Wednesday. Sheetal, who was born without arms, and Payal, a quadruple amputee, went down 141-150 to the Chinese duo of Xu Xueqing and Zhao Jing. Payal and Sheetal, both 19, were not really able to match their Chinese opponents, playing catch-up throughout the match. Sheetal had won a silver medal in this event in the last edition of the Games as well, partnering Sarita Devi.

Sachin Sarjerao Khilari won a gold with a Games record as Indians swept all three medals in the men's shot put F46 event at the Asian Para Games here on Wednesday. Paris Paralympics silver winner Khilari defended the gold he had won in the previous Asian Para Games in China with his sixth and final throw of 15.87m, breaking the earlier Games record of 15.67m. Mohd. Yasser took the silver with his third round throw of 15.06m while Parveen was third with 14.94m. The F46 classification is for field athletes with a single above or below elbow amputation, or an equivalent upper-limb impairment. They compete in a standing position and generate throwing power using their hips and legs.

Defending champion Sheetal Devi and Swati Chaudhary stormed into the finals of their respective events to assure India of two medals in para archery events of the Asian Para Games here on Tuesday. The 19-year-old Sheetal, who equalled the world record and created a new Asian record in the qualification round, defeated Japan's Shinohara Aya 145-137 in the women's compound semifinal to set up a gold-medal clash with Singapore's Alim Nur Syahidah. Swati, who is making her Games debut, also assured India of at least a silver medal after beating South Korea's Eunhee Lee 6-2 in the women's W1 semifinal. She will face China's Mengkan in the final. W1 classification is for athletes with significant impairment in functional strength, range of motion, or limb loss across all four limbs. India's recurve and compound mixed teams also advanced to the semifinals with victories over Thailand and Japan, respectively. Paralympic gold-medallist Harvinder Singh and Bhawna defeated their Thai opponen

Ravi Baby Sahana and Prachi Pandey scripted history by becoming India's first para table tennis players to make the podium in the standing category at the Asian Para Games, as the country secured five bronze medals here on Tuesday. Paralympics medallist Bhavina Patel, Sonalben Patel, Prachi and Sahana all went down to accomplished Paralympic medallists in their respective women's singles semifinals, while Jehan Madan bagged a bronze medal in the men's singles class 1 event by virtue of finishing fourth in a five-paddler field. The haul also took India past its medal tally from the previous edition, where it had won two bronze medals in para table tennis. Sahana and Prachi's bronze were particularly significant as they became the first Indians to win medals in the standing category at the Asian Para Games. Tamil Nadu's Sahana went down 8-11, 2-11, 4-11 to five-time Paralympic gold medallist Mao Jingdian of China in the Class 9 semifinal. Class 9 in para table tennis is a standing .

India's Deepthi Jeevanji reasserted her continental supremacy by snaring a second successive Asian Para Games gold medal in the women's 400m T20 event after clocking a Games record time of 56.36sec here on Tuesday. The 23-year-old from Telangana, who also holds the Asian record, is a two-time Para World Championships medallist, having won the gold in 2024. She is also a Paralympic bronze winner in the same event. On Tuesday, Japan's Niina Kanno (58.92sec) won the silver and her compatriot Akane Kato (1:00.26sec) took bronze. The T20 classification covers athletes with intellectual impairments. Athletes in this category experience challenges with processing information, concentration, and executing race plans or tactical strategies. Hailing from a remote village in Telangana's Warangal, Deepthi's parents are small farmers, who also worked as labourers in their village. Her talent for running was first discovered by a physical education teacher in her school. She eventually found ..

Para athletics led India's medal charge on Day 1, contributing three gold medals and three medals across silver and bronze, while shooting para sport and para judo also added to the tally

India finished fourth at the Aichi-Nagoya Games with 85 medals, comprising 21 gold, 27 silver and 37 bronze, compared with 106 medals at Hangzhou in 2022

Former national coach Prakash Padukone on Thursday termed India's badminton performance at the Asian Games "a little disappointing", saying the country's players should have matched or bettered their previous medal tally. India won only a team bronze in badminton at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, a performance Padukone felt was below expectations considering the talent available in the country. Indian shuttlers returned empty-handed in individual events after four quarterfinal exits. "I think it was a little disappointing. We should have done much better," Padukone, the 1980 All England champion, told reporters during an event to sign MoU between the Padukone School of Badminton and former India cricketer Nilesh Kulkarni's IISM (International Institute of Sports Management). "I think we had done much better last time. And considering the kind of talent we have, we should have done much better. Even I was expecting at least, if not better, but at least equal the last time's

Para-shooters have sought an urgent independent inquiry into alleged financial corruption, extortion and manipulation in the selection process for the Para Asian Games, prompting the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) to reject the charges and insist that the team was picked entirely on merit. In a representation to the Director General of the Sports Authority of India (SAI) on Wednesday, the shooters alleged "illicit monetary extortion", "brazen corruption" and violations of Sports Ministry's guidelines by PCI officials and its Shooting Technical Committee (STC) in selections for the Aichi-Nagoya Para Asian Games, scheduled from October 18 to 24. The representation alleged that athletes were being pressured to pay a 20 per cent commission from government cash awards as a precondition for selection, while also accusing officials of manipulating international quota places and qualifying scores to favour certain shooters. "Athletes are being coerced under severe duress into paying an

Boxer Lovlina Borgohain received a rousing welcome in Guwahati on Tuesday as she returned to Assam after winning gold at the Asian Games in Japan. Borgohain clinched gold in the women's 75-kg category on her birthday on October 2, defeating China's Bao Ziyi 5-0 in the final. She was received at the Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport by Assam Sports and Youth Welfare Minister Biswajit Daimary, state BJP president Dilip Saikia, her family and fans. The Congress also felicitated Borgohain at the airport. A delegation led by senior Congress leader Pranati Phukan welcomed her with a 'gamosa', a flower bouquet and a 'jaapi'. Senior Congress leaders Bipul Gogoi, Bedabrata Bora, Udit Bhanu Das, Gunakanta Gogoi, Mousumi Neog and Debajit Deka were among those present to welcome her. With the victory, Borgohain became only the second Indian woman boxer to win an Asian Games gold, after MC Mary Kom achieved the feat in 2014. The Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist had won silver a

India needs a more focused approach in sports

India's 85-medal haul at the 2026 Asian Games was their second-best outing in the continental event, behind their 106-medal haul in Hangzhou in 2023

Indian women athletes delivered 11 of the 21 gold medals in Aichi-Nagoya, a stark rise in their overall gold contribution from 32.14 per cent in 2022 to 52.38 per cent in 2026

Asian Games individual gold medallist golfer Pranavi Urs will be awarded with Rs 1 crore by AM Green IGPL, the league announced on Saturday. Pranavi is the first Indian woman to win an Asian Games gold in golf. Additionally, the league will award Rs 25 lakh individually to the Indian women's team of Pranavi, Aditi Ashok and Diksha Dagar for winning silver in the team event. Pranavi, 23, from Mysuru, finished on 15-under 265 at the Kasugai Country Club East Course, grabbing the gold. India had not won a golf gold at the Asian Games since Shiv Kapur took the men's individual title in 2002.

The hard-fought win over arch-rivals Pakistan in the semifinal pumped the Indian men's hockey team in their dominant victory over Malaysia in the summit clash to clinch the Asian Games gold and book the 2028 Olympics berth, said head coach Craig Fulton here on Saturday. Captain Harmanpreet Singh rose to the occasion with a brace as India thrashed Malaysia 5-1 to win the men's hockey gold for the second time in a row. "We played a great game. We almost needed that semifinal (win) to get into this mindset," Fulton said after the summit calsh. The nimble-footed Malaysians, who have always been a tricky opponent, created problems for India for stretches of the first half. India, however, played much better in the second half to impose themselves in the contest. "I'm proud of the boys because on the first half's performance from Malaysia, they did really well. We stuck to our guns but they scored a world-class goal. Coming in 2-1, it was tight. And then our third quarter was immense and

Abhay Singh returned from the Asian Games with two medals but little satisfaction, with the Indian squash player particularly disappointed by the men's team's bronze, which he felt was a missed opportunity to defend their gold from the last edition. There were no garlands, no bands and no loud celebrations as Abhay made a quiet exit from the airport, his subdued mood reflecting his disappointment despite winning silver in the men's individual event. "I think the result in the individual event was understandable considering the strength of the opponent. However, I am quite disappointed with the team event result," Abhay told PTI. "I genuinely believe we had the depth and quality to win the gold medal, but that is not how sports work. Hopefully, we can come back stronger and do one better next time." The 28-year-old became only the second Indian man to win an individual squash medal at the Asian Games after Saurav Ghosal. "Being only the second Indian to achieve this does not matter

Wicketkeeper batter Sanju Samson asserted India did not get the Asian Games gold 'on a platter', and said fielding experienced A-list players helped the team manage the pressures of a high-octane final against Pakistan. India defeated arch-rivals Pakistan by 19 runs to defend their men's cricket gold at the continental showpiece here on Saturday. "We had a very experienced team. That's where the experience of experienced players comes in. We knew how to manage our energy, how to keep ourselves motivated and focused even when practices were not happening and matches were not happening," Samson said after the match. India's decision to bring their regular T20 contingent ensured they had the firepower and composure to handle the occasion. "Bringing the 'A' team really helped, and that's what happened against Pakistan in the final. I think it was a proper game for everyone," he added. India rode on half-centuries from Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma to post a formidable 211 for six be