Asian Games 2026: India’s golden day as archers lead four-gold haul at Asian Games

Aichi-Nagoya: India produced its most productive day of the 2026 Asian Games on September 30, winning four gold medals, including a clean sweep of all three compound archery team titles, while shooters Neeru Dhanda and Kynan Chenai added another gold with an Asian record.

The four-gold haul took India’s overall medal tally to 60 — 10 gold, 21 silver and 29 bronze — and lifted the country to eighth place in the standings. It was India’s best single-day gold return of the Games so far.

The archers led the charge at the Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Multipurpose Square, with India retaining all three compound team titles. Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Chikitha Taniparthi and Prithika Pradeep began the golden sweep by beating China 238-234 in the women’s team final. Their winning score also equalled the world record.

Chikitha then teamed up with Sahil Jadhav in the mixed team final, where India overcame South Korea in a tense shoot-off. The Indians levelled the contest before both produced perfect 10s in the tie-break, while South Korea’s final arrow fell short. The victory also secured an Olympic quota for India.

The men’s compound team of Kushal Dalal, Sahil Jadhav and Ganesh Mani Ratnam Thirumuru completed the clean sweep, edging China 238-237 in another tightly fought final. India trailed heading into the final end but responded with a perfect sequence, while China dropped an eight with its opening arrow of the final series.

Sahil emerged as one of the day’s standout performers, collecting two gold medals after featuring in both the mixed and men’s team triumphs. The three archery victories also meant India successfully defended the corresponding team titles won at the previous Asian Games.

The fourth gold came from the shooting range, where Neeru Dhanda and Kynan Chenai topped the mixed team trap event. The Indian pair scored 34 in the final, beating Qatar’s 32 and China’s 23, while setting a new Asian record.

The result capped another memorable outing for Neeru, who had already won individual trap gold and a team silver. She became the first Indian woman to win an Asian Games individual trap medal with her victory on Tuesday.

There was more cheer beyond the gold-medal tally. India’s women’s hockey team defeated South Korea 2-0 to reach the final, while Lovlina Borgohain entered the women’s 75kg boxing final. India also added bronze medals through boxers Priya Ghanghas and Kapil Pokhariya and wrestler Sunil Kumar.

With the competition entering its final stretch, India’s golden September 30 provided a significant boost to its medal campaign, with archery once again emerging as one of the country’s major sources of success.

(The report has been generated with the help of AI)

Tags : Archery, Asian Games, Gold medal, Neeru Dhanda, shooting