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India climbed to eighth place in the Asian Games medal standings on Wednesday after reaching the 10-gold mark, with an outstanding day for the compound archers and another gold medal in shooting helping the country make a significant rise in the table.
Indias overall medal tally now stands at 60, comprising 10 gold, 21 silver and 29 bronze medals. The country enjoyed a golden run in compound archery, securing the top prize in all three team events. Neeru Dhanda and Kynan Chenai added another gold in the mixed team trap event, while three bronze medals in boxing and Sunil Kumars bronze in wrestling further boosted Indias overall tally. The four gold medals won on Wednesday helped India move up two places to eighth in the standings. Bahrain occupy seventh position with 11 gold medals, while Kazakhstan are ninth with 56 medals, including nine golds. China continue to dominate the medal table with 275 medals, including 150 gold, 66 silver and 59 bronze. Japan are second with 199 medals, while South Korea sits third with 102 medals. Compound archery proved to be the highlight of Indias campaign on Wednesday, with the country completing a clean sweep of all three team gold medals. Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Chikitha Taniparthi and Prithika Pradeep opened the gold rush in the womens team event, defeating Chinas Wunier, Yue Wang and Fangyao Wei 238-234. The Indian trio also equalled the world record with their score while successfully defending the Asian Games title. The hero of the final was undoubtedly Jadhav, who finished with a 100 per cent record of hitting 10s. Kushal Dalal and Ganesh Mani Ratnam also did a fabulous job. Chikitha Taniparthi and Sahil Jadhav then secured the mixed team gold after edging South Koreas Jungyoon Park and Choi Eun Gyu in a thrilling final. The Indian pair prevailed 158-157 following a shoot-off. The mens team completed Indias compound archery sweep, with Kushal Dalal, Sahil Jadhav and Ganesh Mani Ratnam Thirumuru defeating Chinas Jiahao Liao, Jinyi Liu and Jingyu Shi 238-237 in the final. Chikitha and Sahil ended the day with two gold medals each. Their mixed team triumph also earned India an Olympic quota, making the country the first to qualify for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics compound mixed team event, which is set to make its Olympic debut. At the shooting range, Neeru Dhanda and Kynan Chenai overcame a difficult start to clinch gold in the mixed team trap event. Neeru, who had earlier secured a historic women's trap individual gold, along with Kynan, had a score of 34, going past the Asian Games record of 30 (set by Qatar earlier this year). The silver medal went to Qatar (32), and China (23) took home the bronze. This is India's first-ever gold medal in the Trap Mixed Team event. This is India's ninth gold medal at the Asian Games and third on this day. This is also India's 56th Asian Games 2026 medal, having won nine golds, 21 silver medals and 26 bronze medals. This also marks the 15th medal by India's shooting contingent, having won three golds, eight silvers and four bronze medals. Neeru produced a dominant performance to win the women's individual trap gold medal on Tuesday. The four gold medals won on Wednesday took Indias gold tally into double figures and helped the country rise two spots to eighth in the overall medal standings. In Hockey, the Indian womens hockey team defeated South Korea 2-0 in the semifinal of the Asian Games 2026 on Wednesday to book its place in the gold medal clash. After a goalless first half, India broke the deadlock in the 43rd minute when Ishika converted a penalty corner to put her side ahead. India doubled its advantage four minutes later, in the 47th minute. Salima Tete played a cross into the circle, with the ball taking a deflection off a South Korean defenders stick before finding the back of the net. India held on to its two-goal advantage for the remainder of the contest to seal a 2-0 victory. With the win, India advanced to the final, where it will face China for the gold medal. India added three more bronze medals to its Asian Games tally on Wednesday, with boxers Priya and Kapil Pokhariya and wrestler Sunil Kumar finishing on the podium in their respective events. In boxing, Priya settled for bronze in the womens 60kg category after losing her semifinal bout to Chinas Yang Chengyu. Kapil Pokhariya also secured a bronze medal in the mens 90kg category after suffering a semifinal defeat against Uzbekistans Turabek Khabibullaev. In wrestling, Sunil Kumar clinched bronze in the mens Greco-Roman 87kg category after defeating the Philippines Callum Roberts in the bronze medal bout. (ANI)
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