Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (15) youngest and Mairaj Ahmad Khan (50) oldest Indian medallists at Asian Games 2026
Fifteen-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and 50-year-old Mairaj Ahmad Khan emerged as India's youngest and oldest medallists at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, which ran from September 19 to October 4. Their distinctions were among a wide spread of team and individual achievements for India at the tournament.
The Games featured competitors from 46 nations and included both team and individual events across the programme. India’s men's and women's teams each won gold in cricket, kabaddi and hockey, and for the first time both Indian men's and women's hockey teams secured gold at the same Asian Games. Several standout individual performances complemented those team results.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, aged 15, became India's youngest-ever Games gold medallist as a member of the Indian men’s cricket team that clinched gold by defeating Pakistan by 19 runs in the final. In the decider he hit back-to-back sixes before Saim Ayub dismissed him for 15 off 9 balls. His contribution formed part of the margin that secured the title for India.
Two-time Olympian Mairaj Ahmad Khan, 50, was the oldest Indian medallist, taking bronze in the men's skeet team event alongside Anantjeet Singh Naruka and Bhavtegh Singh Gill. After competing at international level for over two decades, this was Khan's first Asian Games medal. The Uttar Pradesh native is a three-time ISSF World Cup gold medallist.
Seventeen-year-old Kumkum Mohod became the first Indian female archer to win an individual recurve gold at the Aichi-Nagoya Games and finished the tournament with two golds and one silver. Her medals added to India's individual gold tally at the event.
Pranavi Urs created history with historic individual golf gold at the 2026 Games. Neeru Dhanda became India's first women's trap shooting gold medallist and was selected as the country's flagbearer for the closing ceremony.
India finished fourth in the Asian Games 2026 medal table with 85 medals — 21 golds, 27 silvers and 37 bronzes.