India won 85 medals at Nagoya, finishing fourth. The tally was well below the 107 medals won at Hangzhou, underscoring a worrying dip ahead of the 2028 Olympics
India’s women’s hockey gold ended a 44-year wait, while the men also won gold. Teenager Kumkum Mohod’s individual recurve gold added another highlight to the campaign
India failed to win an individual badminton medal for the first time in 12 years
The setback raises questions about the country’s ability to sustain performance in strong disciplines
The government spent nearly ₹98 crore on TOPS ahead of Nagoya, up sharply from ₹24.21 crore in 2023. Yet only about 2% of the spending translated into gold medals
The challenge is not simply a lack of sporting talent
The bigger question is whether schemes such as TOPS are identifying the right athletes early enough and giving them the support to reach the elite level
Stories such as R Vithya Ramraj and Lovlina Borgohain show what can emerge from limited means
India needs wider access to sporting facilities to build a deeper pool of medal-winning talent