September 29: India wins two golds at Asian Games in Nagoya, crosses 50-medal mark
India won two gold medals at the Asian Games in Nagoya on September 29, 2026, with Neeru Dhanda claiming the women's individual trap and the Indian women's 4x400m relay quartet taking gold; the country also passed the 50-medal threshold on Day 11.
India added eight medals during the day, taking its overall haul to 54, with six golds, 22 silvers and 26 bronze medals; a later tally on September 29 recorded a total of 52 medals, including six golds, 21 silvers and 25 bronze medals. Neeru Dhanda became the first Indian woman to win an individual Asian Games gold in trap, and the women's 4x400m victory delivered India’s first athletics gold of the Games.
Neeru Dhanda opened India’s gold count on Day 11 with the historic individual trap victory. She had earlier combined with Aashima Ahlawat and Manisha Keer to win silver in the women's trap team event, the trio finishing on 328 points while China took gold and Kuwait bronze.
The women's 4x400m relay team of Kiran Pahal, Machettira Poovamma, Prachi and Vithya Ramraj won in 3:29.69, with Bahrain claiming silver and China bronze. The relay gold was Vithya Ramraj's third medal of the Games after a silver in the mixed 4x400m and a bronze in the 400m hurdles, where her 54.75-second run broke P.T. Usha's 42-year-old national record.
Gulveer Singh added a bronze in the men's 5000m, clocking 13:32.75; he had earlier won silver in the 10,000m and the 1500m, completing three individual medals at the Games. "Naib Subedar Gulveer Singh adds another proud chapter to India’s athletics campaign at the Asian Games 2026, winning the Silver Medal in the Men’s 1500m. This is his second Silver Medal of the Games, following his podium finish in the Men’s 10,000m.Congratulations to Gulveer" — a message attributed to Rajnath Singh — was shared in reaction to his performances.
India also earned bronze in the mixed 4x100m relay through Gurindervir Singh, Animesh Kujur, Sneha Sathyanarayana and Harita Bhadra, who clocked 41.06 seconds, and the men's 4x400m quartet of Dharamveer Choudhary, Manu Thekkinalil, Jay Kumar and Vishal Thennarasu finished third in 3:01.61. Pooja Singh, aged 19, won bronze in the women's high jump after clearing 1.84m, ending a 24-year wait for an Asian Games medal in the event; a congratulatory message attributed to Kiren Rijiju read: "Rising to the Occasion!Congratulations to Pooja on winning the Bronze Medal in the Women’s High Jump at the #AsianGames2026.A proud podium finish for Indian athletics!#Cheer4Bharat"
Dev Kumar Meena set a new Indian national record of 5.50m in the men's pole vault but finished seventh. In the hammer throw, Tanya Chaudhary placed fourth with 65.35m and Anushka Yadav was fifth with 64.56m. In boxing, Parveen Hooda reached the women's 65kg final after defeating China's Li Shu in the semifinal and Ankush Panghal advanced to the men's 80kg final by beating Uzbekistan's Fazliddin Erkinboev; Narender Berwal secured bronze in the men's +90kg after losing his semifinal to Kazakhstan's Aibek Oralbay.
India's men's volleyball team completed a perfect Pool C campaign by recovering from two sets down to beat Qatar 3-2 — 26-28, 25-27, 25-23, 25-20, 24-22 — in a match that lasted two hours and 47 minutes; Jerome Vinith led with 27 points, Amit Singh Balwan scored 24 and Joel Benjamin Jebaraj added 17. India had earlier beaten Vietnam and Hong Kong China in the group and will now play in the Asian Games men's volleyball quarter-finals.
With boxers Parveen Hooda and Ankush Panghal assured of final appearances and the men's volleyball team through to the quarter-finals, India heads into the next stages of the tournament with confirmed opportunities to add to its medal tally.
