Tajinderpal Singh Toor eyes third straight shot put gold as India target 25 athletics podiums
Shot putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor might have missed the chance to carry the Indian flag at the opening ceremony, but he remains a favourite to win a third successive Asian Games shot put title as track and field competition begins at Paloma Mizuho Stadium in Nagoya on Thursday, September 23, 2026. The 31-year-old two-time defending champion is aiming for a hat-trick that would make him the first Indian track and field athlete to claim the same event three times in a row.
India have entered a 75-member athletics contingent that is targeting at least 25 podium finishes, down from the 29 medals won at the previous edition; injuries and inconsistent form have tempered overall expectations. The absence of an injury-hit Neeraj Chopra has reshaped medal prospects across several events.
In javelin, Rohit Yadav and Yashvir have both surpassed 85m this season and will attempt to secure an Indian placing on the podium, but Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Pathirage—who has produced three throws beyond 90m this year and tops the season’s world list—remains the man to beat for gold. The javelin field therefore looks set to be dominated by Pathirage’s season form.
Long jumper Murali Sreeshankar and 10,000m bronze medallist Gulveer Singh enter aiming to improve on their previous silver and bronze respectively; Sreeshankar has consistently cleared 8m this year, while Gulveer is also entered in the 1,500m and 5,000m, although it remains to be seen if he will contest all three events.
Defending steeplechase champion Avinash Sable, returning from a long injury layoff, posted an impressive outing at the Indian Athletics Final Series earlier this month and looks prepared to compete again. National record holder decathlete Tejaswin Shankar seeks to upgrade his silver but must contend with local favourite Yuma Maruyama, who leads the Asian rankings with 8,321 points this season and won bronze at the last Games.
Quarter-miler Vishal T.K. and 3,000m steeplechaser Parul Chaudhary are listed as athletes who could upset on the day, while triple jumper Praveen Chithravel and 100m hurdler Jyothi Yarraji have been managing niggles. Long jumper Ancy Sojan, currently the Asian leader, will hope to translate her form into a gold medal.
India’s athletics campaign opens on Thursday with Asha Ilango and Niharika Vashisht in the triple jump, where a medal is considered unlikely, and will also feature Seema in the 10,000m and the 4x400m mixed relay team, the latter expected to produce the first athletics medal for India at these Games.
