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Indias mens cricket and hockey teams will take centre stage on Day 12 of the Asian Games 2026 as the defending champions look to move closer to retaining their respective titles, with an India-Pakistan volleyball quarter-final adding another high-profile clash to Thursdays schedule.
Shreyas Iyer-led India will face Sri Lanka in the mens cricket semi-final at 10 am IST, with a place in the final at stake. The Indian side will be aiming to take another step towards defending the gold medal won at the previous edition, according to Olympics.com. Later in the day, Harmanpreet Singh and Co. will renew their rivalry with Pakistan in the mens hockey semi-final at 1 pm IST. With the tournament also carrying significance for the race for an early qualification spot for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, India will look to book their place in the final. The India-Pakistan rivalry will also be on display in mens volleyball, with the two sides meeting in the quarter-finals at 6:30 am IST. Indias medal hopes extend across several other disciplines on Thursday. The shooting programme concludes with the mens 25m rapid fire pistol, where Anish Bhanwala will compete in the second stage of qualification from 6:10 am IST. Bhanwala is currently fifth after the opening stage, with the final scheduled for noon if he qualifies. In archery, Indias compound team, which has already swept the team gold medals, will look to add more medals in the individual events. Chikitha Taniparthi takes on Indonesias Nurisa Dian Ashrifah in the womens quarter-final at 5:30 am IST, while Ganesh Mani Ratnam Thirumuru faces Taipeis Chen Chieh-lun in the mens quarter-final at 9:47 am IST. The squash teams will also be chasing places in the finals. The Indian women face Hong Kong China in the semi-final at 7 am IST, while the men take on Malaysia at 1 pm IST. Both teams are assured of at least a bronze medal. Wrestling will provide further medal opportunities, with Sumit Dalal (60kg), Aman (77kg), Nitesh Kumar (97kg) and Mansi Ahlawat (womens 62kg) beginning their campaigns in Greco-Roman and womens wrestling. Their respective medal bouts, should they progress, are scheduled from 2:30 pm IST. Judo also has two Indian contenders in action, with Yamini Mourya (57kg) and Inunganbi Takhellambam (70kg) beginning their campaigns in the morning and potential medal bouts scheduled for 1:30 pm IST. On the cycling track, Harshveer Singh Sekhon will compete in the mens omnium, with the points race serving as the medal event at 1:33 pm IST. Harshita Jakhar and Swasti Singh will contest the womens madison final at 12:18 pm IST. India will also have representation in canoe slalom, sports climbing, taekwondo and sailing, while the womens rugby sevens team opens its campaign against Hong Kong China at 8:50 am IST before taking on the Peoples Republic of China at 3:30 pm IST. In tennis, Sumit Nagal faces Chinas Wu Yibing in the mens singles quarter-final at 6:30 am IST. India enters Day 12 in eighth position in the medal tally with 60 medals -- 10 gold, 21 silver and 29 bronze -- and will look to add to that haul across a busy schedule featuring multiple medal events and high-profile knockout clashes. (ANI)
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