Asian Games 2026 Day 3: Badminton and shooting to open India’s schedule on September 22
India’s athletes begin Day 3 of the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya on September 22, with early medal action in badminton and shooting scheduled to start the country’s programme and the women’s cricket final offering a chance at the nation’s first gold.
India has collected six medals across the opening two days — four of them on Monday — but none of those are gold; the country has already secured four silvers and shooting has provided five of the six medals so far. The badminton and table tennis teams have guaranteed at least bronze by reaching the semi-finals in their team events, and Esports, equestrian and fencing make their first appearances at this edition.
The competition day for India is due to begin at 5:30 am IST with Esports, Wushu, Soft Tennis and Sepaktakraw, followed by medal rounds in badminton and shooting. Organisers’ schedules list a sequence of early contests that feed into the afternoon knockout and medal sessions.
Timed fixtures on the day include India vs Japan in the women’s badminton team quarter-final at 6:00 AM, Chetan Bhatt in karate men’s Kumite -84kg semi-final at 7:35 AM, the women’s cricket gold-medal match India vs Sri Lanka at 10:30 AM, India vs Japan in the men’s badminton team quarter-final at 11:30 AM and Langlentombi Devi Hanjabam in the wushu women’s Nandao final at 11:59 AM.
In table tennis, India’s men advanced to the last 16 as second-placed finishers in the group phase and will meet South Korea — the eight-time reigning silver medallists — for a place in the quarter-finals, while the Indian women topped their group and face Thailand in their round of 16 tie. The opponents for India’s table tennis sides are described as more formidable than for the badminton teams.
India’s men’s hockey team return to Pool A action against Sri Lanka in their second match of the pool, and the men’s kabaddi team play South Korea in their second group match. Indian athletes are scheduled to contest at least five medal events on Tuesday, a total that could increase depending on results in wushu, fencing and other sports.
Shooter Elavenil Valarivan, who secured India’s first individual medal at these Games, will compete in the 10m air rifle mixed event alongside Parth Mane; Elavenil has two medals already and will be seeking a third.
India’s confirmed headline fixture on the day is the women’s cricket gold-medal match against Sri Lanka at 10:30 AM, a match that is identified as a likely opportunity for the country to claim its first Asian Games gold of the Aichi-Nagoya edition.
