India's women win cricket gold on Day 3 as boxing, kabaddi, hockey and badminton produce mixed results at Asian Games 2026
India secured its first gold medal of the 2026 Asian Games on Tuesday when the Indian women’s cricket team defeated Sri Lanka by 147 runs in the final in Japan. It was India’s only medal on Day 3 of the Games.
Openers Shefali Verma and Smriti Mandhana provided a strong start, combining in a 99-run opening stand; Smriti top-scored with 79. Richa Ghosh finished with a 22-ball 49 as India posted 216, and Chamari Athapaththu’s cameo was ended when Deepthi Sharma was introduced; after the skipper was dismissed, the Lankans lost seven wickets for 23 runs.
In boxing, Sakshi Chaudhary beat Paris Olympics bronze medallist Aira Villegas 5-0 in the opening round, while Jadumani Singh swept Nepal’s Chandra Bahadur Thapa 5-0 to advance to the pre-quarter-finals. "Jadumani Singh starts his campaign in style!! 🇮🇳🥊The CWG silver medallist sees off Nepal's Chandra Bahadur Thapa with a dominant performance, winning by unanimous verdict to advance."
The men’s kabaddi team, led by Sunil Kumar, defeated South Korea 63-31 with Jan Kun Lee the lone notable challenge for the defending champions. The Harmanpreet-led men’s hockey side routed Sri Lanka 16-1 in Pool A; India recorded a stronger conversion rate from shots on target to goals, a statistic the report noted would have pleased Craig Fulton.
Badminton produced contrasting outcomes: the men’s side beat hosts Japan in the quarter-finals to assure a medal, with Lakshya Sen, Ayush Shetty and the doubles pair Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy all winning their matches. The women’s team lost 1-3 to Japan after PV Sindhu dropped the first game to Akane Yamaguchi; doubles pair Gayatri Gopichand and Tanvi Sharma won one match but India failed to claim any singles. In table tennis, the women’s team recovered to beat Thailand in the round of 16 but fell to North Korea in the quarter-finals, and the men’s team were beaten 3-0 by South Korea and did not reach the last eight.
Roshbina Devi progressed to the semi-finals of the women’s 60kg wushu event, thereby assuring a medal, while Aryan was eliminated in the men’s 56kg quarter-finals by an Uzbekistan opponent. India’s fencing bids in the men’s foil individual and women’s epee individual ended on Tuesday as all four Indian fencers were knocked out. In karate, Chetan Bhatt missed a bronze medal by the senshu rule and Alisha lost in the round of 16. India recorded setbacks in swimming, sepak takraw and soft tennis, failing to challenge the medalists in those events.
In shooting, Elavenil Valarivan and Parth Mane finished fourth in the mixed team 10m air rifle final after placing second in qualification. Anant Jeet Singh sat in 2nd place and Raiza Dhillon in 5th in their respective events, positions noted as relevant for upcoming individual contests.
India will contest shotgun events tomorrow, where the women’s team is placed third and the men’s team is placed ffith; the positions of Anant Jeet Singh (2nd) and Raiza Dhillon (5th) were highlighted as they aim for medals in the individual shotgun competitions.
