Day 8 of the Asian Games 2026 turned into another action-packed day for India, with the country collecting major wins across kabaddi, badminton, hockey, squash, boxing and athletics.
The biggest highlight of the day was undoubtedly kabaddi, where both the Indian men’s and women’s teams won gold medals. After the women’s team secured the top prize earlier in the day, the men’s team followed them with a thrilling victory over Iran.
India also continued to remain in the hunt for more medals in athletics, while several Indian athletes and shuttlers booked their places in the next rounds.
India win double gold in kabaddi
The Indian men’s kabaddi team produced a brilliant performance to defeat Iran 40-34 in the final and win the gold medal.
The match was not easy for India. Iran led 18-17 at half-time, but the Indian team fought back strongly in the second half and turned the contest around.
The victory also marked India’s ninth medal in men’s kabaddi at the Asian Games.
Earlier in the day, the Indian women’s kabaddi team had also defeated Iran to win gold. It was therefore a special day for Indian kabaddi, with both teams finishing at the top of the podium.
Athletics brings more medal hopes
India continued to have plenty of medal opportunities in athletics.
Praveen Chithravel and Karthik Unnikrishnan entered the men’s triple jump final, giving India a chance of winning two medals in the same event.
The men’s shot put final also began with Tajinderpal Singh Toor and Karanveer Singh representing India. Toor produced a best throw of 20.26m on his second attempt and was sitting in second position at that stage.
In the decathlon, Tejaswin Shankar delivered a strong performance in the long jump. His best attempt was 2.18m, earning him 973 points in the event. His overall tally reached 3,343 points, putting him in gold medal position at that stage.
Animesh Kujur reaches 200m final
After missing out on the men’s 100m final, Animesh Kujur bounced back strongly in the 200m.
Kujur finished second in his semifinal with a timing of 20.81 seconds and booked his place in the men’s 200m final.
It was an important comeback for the Indian sprinter after the disappointment of the 100m event.
India also had two representatives reach the women’s 200m final. Harita Bhadra finished second in her heat with a timing of 23.31 seconds and qualified automatically.
Unnati Bolland also finished third in her fast heat to join Bhadra in the final, giving India hopes of a double podium finish.
Nandhini Kongan also progressed to the women’s 100m hurdles final after finishing fourth in her heat with a timing of 13.45 seconds, which was enough to secure a fastest non-automatic qualifying spot. Jyothi Yarraji, meanwhile, pulled out of her heats.
Big wins in badminton
India enjoyed several strong performances on the badminton court.
PV Sindhu produced a clinical performance against Chinese Taipei’s Chiu Pin-chian. After winning the first game 21-18, Sindhu closed out the second game 21-14 to seal a straight-games victory and progress to the next round.
Unnati Hooda also produced one of the day’s impressive results. The Indian teenager defeated world No. 6 Putri Kusuma Wardani in straight games. After winning the first game 21-19, Hooda took the second 21-13 to complete a confident victory.
Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand also booked their place in the next round after defeating Japan’s Mayu Matsumoto and Yuki Fukushima in straight games. The Indian pair won the opening game 24-22 before taking the second 21-18.
However, it was a disappointing day for Ayush Shetty. He fought hard against Chinese Taipei’s Tien-Chen Chou but eventually lost 16-21, 21-19, 17-21 and crashed out of the men’s singles event.
India remain unbeaten in men’s hockey
The Indian men’s hockey team continued its unbeaten run with a 2-0 victory over Japan.
It was one of India’s toughest matches of the tournament so far, but the team managed to keep Japan at bay and secure its fourth consecutive win.
Captain Harmanpreet Singh scored India’s second goal late in the third quarter.
India have already qualified for the semi-finals and will now face Bangladesh in their final pool-stage match.
Abhay Singh reaches squash final
Another major moment came in squash, where Abhay Singh booked his place in the men’s singles final.
The Indian defeated Pakistan’s Muhammad Irfan 3-0, winning the third game 11-6 to complete a dominant straight-games victory.
Abhay will now have a chance to fight for the gold medal.
Priya Ghanghas storms into boxing quarter-finals
Indian boxer Priya Ghanghas also impressed on Day 8.
She defeated South Korea’s Yeonji Oh 5-0 in the women’s 60kg Round of 16 to comfortably book her place in the quarter-finals.
Her next opponent will be Tajikistan’s Mijgova Samadova, who won a bronze medal at the 2022 Asian Games.
Archery produces mixed results
There were mixed results for India in archery.
In women’s recurve qualifying, Kumkum Mohod finished 10th, while Kirti finished 18th and Ankita Bhakat finished 26th. The Indian trio finished seventh in the team qualification standings.
In men’s compound individual qualification, Sahil Jadhav finished fifth, Thirumuru Ganesh Mani Ratnam was 14th and Kushal Dalal finished 16th. Together, the Indian trio stood third in the team qualification.
With more athletics finals and medal events still to come, India will be hoping to add even more medals before Day 8 comes to an end.
The double gold in kabaddi has already made it a memorable day, but with athletes such as Animesh Kujur, Tejaswin Shankar, Tajinderpal Singh Toor, Praveen Chithravel and Karthik Unnikrishnan still in action, India’s medal hunt is far from over.
