Toor chases third Asian Games shot put gold as India open athletics in Aichi-Nagoya on Sept 24, 2026
India begins its athletics campaign at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in Japan on Thursday, September 24, 2026, with shot putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor aiming to secure a third successive Asian Games gold. Long jumper Murali Sreeshankar and long-distance runner Gulveer Singh are among the athletes seeking to improve on the medals they won at the previous Games.
India has set a target of over 20 athletics medals at these Asian Games, placing Toor among the principal medal prospects as the athletics programme gets under way. The 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games are currently being held in Japan, and several Indian athletes have already advanced in other sports ahead of the athletics schedule.
Two Indian mixed doubles table tennis pairings — Harmeet Desai-Yashaswini Ghorpade and Diya Chitale-Manush Shah — advanced into the quarterfinals on Wednesday, September 23. The world number seven duo of Chitale and Shah recorded a 3-0 win over a combined Sri Lanka and Maldives pairing in the round of 16, blanking Moosa Ahmed and Aishath Nazeem 11-0, 11-7, 11-6. Chitale and Shah are set to meet Hong Kong’s Doo Hoi Kim and Wong Chun Ting in the quarterfinals on Thursday, September 24; a victory would guarantee them a medal in the continental event.
The Indian men’s badminton team secured a bronze after a 1-3 semifinal defeat to China on Wednesday, September 23, with Lakshya Sen and Ayush Shetty unable to overcome higher-ranked opponents during the tie. The bronze marks the end of the men's team campaign at these Games.
Jay Meena claimed what the report describes as India’s first-ever soft tennis medal at the Asian Games by taking bronze after losing to Japan’s Takuya Kurosaka in the men’s singles semifinals in Nagoya on Wednesday, September 23. In weightlifting, Mirabai Chanu won the Asian Games silver in the women’s 49kg event on Wednesday, September 23, completing her collection of Asian Games medals.
Shooter Manu Bhaker, 24, has endured a difficult two years since Paris and recorded a fifth-place finish at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games after managing a couple of podium finishes in both the 10m and 25m pistol events during that period. The report notes the sudden death of coach, mentor and father figure Jaspal Rana earlier this year as a significant personal blow for Bhaker.
India sits 12th on the overall medal table with 12 medals — 1 gold, 5 silver and 6 bronze — while China tops the standings. The mixed doubles quarterfinal between Diya Chitale-Manush Shah and Doo Hoi Kim-Wong Chun Ting on Thursday, September 24, and the start of India’s athletics programme on the same day (featuring Tajinderpal Singh Toor) are the immediate next events for the Indian contingent at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.