India’s medal tally at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya rose to seven on Tuesday after the women’s cricket team secured the country’s first gold medal of the Games. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side defeated Sri Lanka by 147 runs in the women’s T20 final to successfully defend the title won at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games.
The Indian contingent had already collected six medals before the cricket final, with shooting accounting for the majority of the haul. India’s campaign began even before the September 19 opening ceremony, with athletes competing in events scheduled ahead of the official start of the Games.
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The first medal came in the women’s 10m air rifle team event. Elavenil Valarivan, Sonam Maskar and Vidarsa Vinod combined to win a silver medal, opening India’s account in Aichi-Nagoya.
Elavenil added another silver in the individual women’s 10m air rifle event, further strengthening India’s presence in the shooting competition.
India then enjoyed a strong outing in the men’s 10m air rifle events. Rudrankksh Patil, Himanshu Dhillon and Parth Mane won silver in the team event. Dhillon followed that performance with an individual silver, while Rudrankksh added a bronze to India’s tally.
That took India’s medal count to six before Suchika Tariyal added another bronze in the women’s traditional 60kg MMA competition. Tariyal earned the medal after her bout against Singapore’s Teo Hui Hoon.
India’s seventh medal and first gold came through the women’s cricket team on Tuesday. The defending champions produced a dominant performance against Sri Lanka in the final at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin.
India posted 216/3 after being asked to bat first. Smriti Mandhana led the scoring with a blistering 79, while Richa Ghosh contributed 49 off 22 balls. Shafali Verma also made a valuable contribution with 48.
Sri Lanka struggled during the chase and were bowled out for only 67. Shafali made an impact with the ball as well, while Deepti Sharma and Shree Charani helped India dismantle the Sri Lankan batting order.
The 147-run victory was India’s biggest in women’s T20Is, surpassing their previous record 144-run win against Malaysia in 2018. It also marked India’s second consecutive women’s cricket gold at the Asian Games.
The cricket triumph opened India’s gold-medal account at the Games and took the country’s overall medal tally to seven.
With several events still to come, India’s campaign will now move into a busier phase. The shooting contingent remains among the key medal contenders, while Indian athletes are also competing across badminton, wrestling, athletics, boxing and other disciplines.
The Indian men’s cricket team will begin its Asian Games campaign on September 28. The side has already secured a direct entry into the quarter-finals and will be aiming to defend the gold medal won in Hangzhou.
India’s early medal haul has therefore been driven largely by shooting, with women’s cricket providing the breakthrough gold. As competition intensifies in Aichi-Nagoya, the Indian contingent will look to add to its seven-medal tally across the remaining events.
| No. | Athlete/Team | Sport | Event | Medal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Elavenil Valarivan, Sonam Maskar, Vidarsa Vinod | Shooting | Women’s 10m air rifle team | Silver |
| 2 | Elavenil Valarivan | Shooting | Women’s 10m air rifle individual | Silver |
| 3 | Rudrankksh Patil, Himanshu Dhillon, Parth Mane | Shooting | Men’s 10m air rifle team | Silver |
| 4 | Himanshu Dhillon | Shooting | Men’s 10m air rifle individual | Silver |
| 5 | Rudrankksh Patil | Shooting | Men’s 10m air rifle individual | Bronze |
| 6 | Suchika Tariyal | MMA | Women’s traditional 60kg | Bronze |
| 7 | India women’s cricket team | Cricket | Women’s T20 | Gold |
