Top five Indian medal contenders in athletics for Asian Games 2026
India arrives at the athletics programme of the Asian Games 2026 with five athletes identified as the nation's leading medal hopes in continental competition.
Predicting medals in athletics is inherently uncertain, but recent championship results and continental-level marks have singled out a group of Indian competitors whose form and records position them as strong challengers at the Games. The list highlights performers across distance running, horizontal jumps and combined events based on outcomes from the 2022 Asian Games, the 2025 Asian Championships and the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
Gulveer Singh has emerged as India’s top distance-running prospect after winning silver in the 10,000m and bronze in the 5,000m at the 2026 Commonwealth Games and adding a bronze at the 2022 Asian Games. He completed a 5,000m/10,000m double at the 2025 Asian Championships and holds the Asian record in the 5,000m with 12:59.77 plus the Indian record in the 10,000m at 27:00.22. Singh has entered three events for this edition, adding the 1,500m to his schedule, while his primary medal chances are noted as the 5,000m and 10,000m; Birhanu Balew and Nagiya Mori are cited as principal threats in the 5,000m, with Mebuki Suzuki and Yamato Yoshii named for the 10,000m.
Murali Sreeshankar comes into the Games with experience and recent podium form, having taken silver at the 2022 Asian Games with an 8.19m jump and silver at the 2026 Commonwealth Games with an 8.09m effort. He missed the Paris Olympics through injury but produced an 8.38m performance in 2026, demonstrating season-best capability. The piece notes China and Japan as providing the main continental challenge, while Murali’s consistency around the eight-metre mark makes him a leading Indian medal prospect.
Tejaswin Shankar is listed as a serious decathlon contender after a strong 2026 campaign that included a new Indian record of 8,057 points in May and a Commonwealth Games bronze with 7,976 points. His résumé also features a silver at the 2022 Asian Games and the Asian Indoor heptathlon title earlier this year. The article emphasises the decathlon’s two-day demands and identifies Yuma Maruyama and Xinghua Chen as the chief rivals to his gold ambitions.
Ancy Sojan is presented as a prime female gold prospect in the long jump after progressing from a 6.63m silver at the 2022 Asian Games to breaking Anju Bobby George’s 22-year-old national record with a 6.88m jump in June. That 6.88m mark is described as the leading women’s long jump performance in Asia this year, and she has produced multiple jumps beyond 6.70m. Huang Yingying and Xiong Shiqi are mentioned as serious competition for the event.
Praveen Chithravel is included among India’s medal contenders in the triple jump following a bronze at the 2022 Asian Games, silver at the 2025 Asian Championships and a Commonwealth Games silver in 2026 with a 16.58m leap. He recorded a 17.08m season-best earlier this year, and his national record of 17.37m is cited as remaining among Asia’s best marks; Su Wen and Ma Yinglong are identified as the primary threats.
Neeraj Chopra has been ruled out of the Asian Games 2026 with an injury, while Gulveer Singh, Murali Sreeshankar, Tejaswin Shankar, Ancy Sojan and Praveen Chithravel are named as India’s athletics medal prospects for the tournament.
