India begin Day 2 at Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya with wushu, shooting and MMA among medal chances
India start their second day at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya on Monday, September 21, with medal events and early-session competitions including wushu, soft tennis and sepaktakraw kicking off their programme.
India entered Day 2 on the back of two medals from shooting on Day 1, after Elavenil Valarivan won silver in the women’s 10m air rifle and India also took silver in the team event, leaving the country inside the top 10 of the overall medal table. The delegation is targeting further podiums on September 21, with medal opportunities listed in wushu, shooting, swimming and mixed martial arts. Suchika Tariyal, who earned bronze on Day 1, will contest for a place in the final of the women’s traditional 60kg MMA category; the report notes that, regardless of the outcome, she will return from Aichi-Nagoya as India’s first-ever Asian Games medallist in MMA. The article records that the 36-year-old will hope to improve the colour of that medal to gold.
Former world champion Rudrankksh Patil is identified as one of India’s leading medal prospects in shooting as the men’s 10m air rifle and shotgun skeet competitions begin on Monday. Qualification rounds will double as team finals, opening the possibility for multiple medals from the same events for Indian shooters. The schedule lists Himanshu Dhillon, Parth Mane and Rudrankksh Patil in the men’s 10m air rifle individual final at 9:00 am.
India’s early session at 5:30 am IST will feature Wushu, Soft Tennis and Sepaktakraw, with the wushu competition specified as a medal event. Nyeman Wangsu is scheduled to contest the women’s Changquan final at 5:30 am. In mixed martial arts, Suchika Tariyal is set to face Singapore’s Teo Hui Hoon in the women’s traditional 60kg semi-finals at 8:30 am.
Team disciplines also feature prominently on Day 2: India’s gold defence in kabaddi begins, the men’s badminton team will commence its campaign, and India will meet Pakistan in both the men’s and women’s team table tennis events. The women’s hockey team is listed to return to action after their 19-0 victory over Kazakhstan on Day 1.
The coverage flags swimming as an area where medal prospects are limited but notes Indian swimmers will attempt to break a long drought; the piece states India have not medalled in swimming since 2014 and that the country’s last swimming gold dates to 1951. This context frames the modest expectations for podium finishes in aquatic events on Day 2.
The report states India will compete for medals in at least three events on Day 2, with the events guaranteed to feature medal contention being Wushu, Shooting and Mixed Martial Arts. It lists the athletes: Nyeman Wangsu (Wushu), Himanshu Dhillon, Parth Mane Rudrankksh Patil (shooting), and Suchika Tariyal (MMA).
India’s immediate schedule for Monday includes Nyeman Wangsu in the women’s Changquan final at 5:30 am, Suchika Tariyal versus Teo Hui Hoon in the women’s traditional 60kg semi-finals at 8:30 am, and Himanshu Dhillon, Parth Mane and Rudrankksh Patil in the men’s 10m air rifle individual final at 9:00 am.