India Add Six Medals on Action-Packed Day at Asian Games, Shooting and Athletics Lead Charge

India, Sep 26 : India produced one of its most productive days at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on September 25, adding six medals across shooting, athletics and table tennis as the country’s campaign gathered momentum in Japan.

The day brought one gold, two silver and three bronze medals for the Indian contingent. By the end of the day, India’s overall tally had reached 23 medals, comprising two gold, nine silver and 12 bronze.

The biggest success came in shooting, where Suruchi Singh and Kamaljeet combined to win the gold medal in the 10m air pistol mixed team event. The Indian pair produced a score of 484.6 in the final to finish 6.6 points ahead of South Korea’s Suhyeon Hong and Gaeun Choo, who took silver with 478 points.

The victory gave India its second gold of the Games and marked the country’s first shooting gold in Aichi-Nagoya. The pair had already topped qualification with 587 points, carrying that form into the medal round.

Their triumph was particularly notable because both shooters had experienced disappointment in individual events earlier in the competition. The mixed team format provided another opportunity, and they converted it into India’s second gold medal of the Games.

Shooting produced another podium finish later in the day. Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, Rudrankksh Patil and Niraj Kumar won silver in the men’s 50m rifle three positions team event. Their result added to India’s strong medal contribution from the shooting range.

Aishwary also competed in the individual final and finished fifth, while Niraj reached the individual stage after a strong qualification performance. The team medal ensured that India continued to add to its shooting haul even when the individual events did not produce another podium finish.

Athletics then supplied another major portion of the day’s medals.

Gulveer Singh won silver in the men’s 10,000m final, clocking 28:29.38. The result represented an improvement on his bronze medal from the previous Asian Games in Hangzhou and gave him a second continental medal.

Gulveer’s performance was significant for Indian distance running, with the athlete maintaining his position among the leading competitors throughout the race. His silver also became one of the notable individual performances of India’s athletics campaign at the Games.

Baranica Elangovan created another piece of history by winning bronze in the women’s pole vault. It was India’s first-ever Asian Games medal in the event.

Her podium finish added another discipline to India’s medal list and highlighted the breadth of the athletics contingent. Manpreet Kaur also secured bronze in the women’s shot put, giving athletics three medals during the day.

The sixth medal came from table tennis. Manush Shah and Diya Chitale won bronze in mixed doubles after their semifinal defeat to the Chinese combination of Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha. Their run nevertheless gave India another podium finish in the discipline.

The day also brought progress in kabaddi. Both Indian teams reached their respective finals after comprehensive victories in the semifinals. The women’s side defeated Nepal, while the men advanced after beating Thailand, setting up gold-medal contests against Iran on September 26.

The kabaddi results added two more medal opportunities for India and ensured that both defending champions would have a chance to fight for gold.

However, the day was not entirely positive across all disciplines. India’s defending badminton champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty suffered an early exit, while the country’s swimmers did not secure a medal. The fencing teams also exited at the last-16 stage.

Despite those setbacks, the six-medal haul represented a substantial contribution to India’s campaign. Shooting provided the gold, athletics produced three medals, and table tennis added another bronze, while kabaddi secured two further medal opportunities for the following day.

The results also showed the variety within India’s medal challenge. Alongside established names, Baranica’s historic pole vault podium and the performances of shooters in the mixed team and rifle events demonstrated the contribution coming from different disciplines.

With the Games continuing until October 4, the Indian contingent entered September 26 with several opportunities to increase its medal count. The kabaddi finals were among the biggest attractions, while athletics, shooting, badminton, squash and other disciplines also featured Indian athletes.

For the Indian contingent, September 25 therefore served as a significant boost. The combination of a shooting gold, multiple athletics medals, a table tennis bronze and two kabaddi finals berths gave the campaign fresh momentum as the competition moved into another busy phase.