Indian women in blue have done it again. Harmanpreet Kaur and co. defeated Sri Lanka by 147 runs in the finale to clinch India’s first gold for the Asian Games 2026. Batting first, India posted a record total of 216/3, the highest in women’s cricket at the Asian Games. Smriti Mandhana slammed 79 off 45 balls, while Richa Ghosh remained unbeaten at 49 off 22. In the chase, Sri Lanka was bundled out soon and ended up bowled out at merely 69 runs.
The women’s team surpassed their previous record of a 142-run victory over Malaysia women, which came in 2018. This is also their consecutive second at the Asian Games.
India is on a roll as Ayush Shetty makes it 3-0 in the men’s team badminton quarterfinal. He defeated Japan’s Koki Watanabe 21-10, 21-19 to take India into the semifinals.
With the latest edition of the first gold medal of the Asian Games in Aichi, Nagoya, the Indian medal tally went up to seven, while the men’s badminton team has also assured the country of another medal with a win against Japan in the quarterfinals.
So far, the shooting contingent has delivered five medals. India narrowly missed out on adding another as Elavenil Valarivan and Parth Mane finished fourth in the 10-meter air rifle mixed team finale. In badminton, the women’s team campaign came to an end in the quarterfinals following a defeat to the hosts.
Meanwhile, the Indian men’s hockey team returns to the pitch alongside their potential chances of medals in the other events. In kabaddi, India produced a dominant performance in men’s Group A, dismantling South Korea 63-31 to secure a win.