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Asian Games 2026: Fired-up Iran the only real threat as India chases historic medal tally in Japan
For India, badminton, shooting, wrestling and boxing have delivered wins consistently at the Asian Games and the 500-strong contingent of athletes at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Games will be looking to replicate their historic 2023 performance in Hangzhou when they brought back over 100 medals
As Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty completed the comeback over local pair of He Ji Ting and Ren Xiang in the final of China Masters 2026 in a rush of five straight points, the trademark celebration followed. Shetty pulled off his T-shirt and gestured to the crowd to make noise, Rankireddy broke into a jig.
But the usual exuberance was missing. It had been a marathon match at the end of a marathon tournament. To top it, Rankireddy had been managing a shoulder injury while Shetty’s back was heavily strapped. Over the course of the event, they spent more than 5 hours on the court. In the final, they wiped out a game deficit to win 11-21, 21-13, 21-17 in an hour and 10 minutes. Sheer will had dragged their tired bodies across the finish line.
Winning the BWF 750 event in Shenzhen not only saw them bag the biggest title of the injury-affected season so far, it was the perfect prep for the 2026 Asian Games. Satwik-Chirag, as the pair is better known, captured India’s first gold in badminton at the continental event at the deferred 2022 Hangzhou Games. At the 2026 edition, which will take place in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, from 19 September-4 October, they are looking for an encore.
“At the Asian Games, you have to play for almost 10 days because there are the team and individual events,” Rankireddy said in a media interaction arranged by the Badminton Association of India.
“Each day, we grew in confidence that our bodies were coping well and able to take the load,” added Shetty. “Even after five days of intense badminton, we felt quite good.”
The star-studded badminton squad, which includes two-time Olympic medallist P.V. Sindhu, 2024 Paris Olympics semi-finalist Lakshya Sen and rising star Ayush Shetty, is one of the headline acts for India in Aichi-Nagoya.
Three years ago, Indian athletes put on a record-breaking performance as they crossed the 100-medal mark at Asiad for the very first time. With a haul of 107 medals, including 28 gold, they easily eclipsed the previous best tally of 70. India finished fourth in the overall medal tally, and topped the charts in archery, cricket, kabaddi and field hockey.
In a bid to build on the performance in Hangzhou, India has sent a contingent of 500 athletes, and will participate in 37 of the 43 sports in Aichi-Nagoya.
Weightlifting has a special significance in India’s sport history. In 2000, Karnam Malleswari became the first Indian woman to medal at the Olympics as she won bronze in 69kg category in Sydney. Over the last three decades Indian lifters, especially women, have delivered consistently on the world stage. The pinnacle was when Mirabai Chanu won a silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
At the recently concluded 2026 Commonwealth Games, weightlifting accounted for eight of India’s 39 medals, with Chanu once again leading the gold rush. At the Asian Games, where the competition is much tougher compared to CWG, India has managed only a total of 14 medals, the last of which came in Bangkok in 1998. And missing from the cabinet is a gold.
A five-member Indian weightlifting squad is not only chasing that elusive honour but hoping to end a 28-year medal drought.
For Chanu, the Asian Games has proved an insurmountable hurdle. Though the star lifter has won an Olympic medal, a World Championship gold and three CWG gold medals, she is yet to earn a podium finish at the Asiad. Her 2023 Hangzhou campaign ended in agony as Chanu finished fourth and had to be assisted off the platform after she fell on her final clean and jerk lift.
“It’s so close,” the 32-year-old told AFP of her quest for an Asiad medal. “I strongly feel that I will not let go of this chance. Since I started weightlifting my aim has been to win an Asian Games medal.”
While winning the Asian Games is a feat in itself, a golden ticket to 2028 LA Olympics is also on the line for a few sports.
Squash will be making its long-awaited Olympics debut in LA and winners of the men’s and women’s singles events at the Asian Games will earn automatic spots.
India has never won a singles gold at the continental event, but in Anahat Singh they have a talent that could smash through the barrier. The 18-year-old created history in July as she became the first Indian to win the Junior World Championship. Currently ranked No.20 in the world, Singh is no stranger to the senior circuit and goes into the 2026 Asian Games as the third seed, behind Sivasangari Subramaniam of Malaysia and Satomi Watanabe of Japan. In men’s singles, Abhay Singh is the second seed.
Along with squash, hockey, tennis, archery, surfing and sailing also serve as Olympic qualifiers.
After the debacle at the recently-concluded FIH World Cup, where the team finished eighth, Indian men’s hockey is looking to bounce back with a gold Asiad. Though the level of hockey in Asia has dropped significantly, India have to defend the title to secure their place for the LA Games.
The women’s team, meanwhile, which finished a creditable fifth at the World Cup, will face stiff competition from China in their bid for gold and a return to Olympic play after missing out in 2024.
Also making a foray into the Olympics is compound archery. At the LA Games, mixed team event has been introduced to the roster, and the Asian Games winners will win a quota place for their country.
For the last few years, Jyothi Surekha Vennam has been one of India’s most consistent performers in global events but has flown under the radar since compound archery was not part of the Olympic programme. It is time for the 30-year-old, who won three gold medals at the 2022 Asian Games, including the one in mixed team, to shine. In recurve, with the gold and silver medallists in individual event earning a quota place, Olympians Dhiraj Bommadevara and Ankita Bhakat lead the Indian challenge.
For India, sports like shooting, wrestling and boxing have also delivered medals consistently at the continental event. While the boxing contingent will be hoping to build on their success at CWG 2026, where they won 10 medals including seven gold, wrestling and shooting return to Games intensity after the sports were cut from CWG programme.
India are also the defending champions in men’s and women’s cricket and have sent full-strength squads to retain the title.
The symbol of India’s absolute dominance at the Games has been kabaddi. Since kabaddi is not part in any other multi-sport event, the Asian Games is the biggest title on offer. And apart from the slip-up in 2018, when the men’s team finished third and the women’s team won a silver, India have swept the gold medals.
Eight triumphs in nine editions for the men, and three golds in four editions for the women is where the tally stands. A fired-up Iran is the only real threat to their title ambitions as India look to extend that legacy.
Deepti Patwardhan is a sportswriter based in Mumbai.