New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with the Indian contingent that participated in the Asian Games 2026 at around 4:30 PM here at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium on Thursday.
PM Modi will also address the gathering on the occasion. The programme will be attended by athletes from the Indian contingent, their coaches and support staff, officials of the Indian Olympic Association, representatives of National Sports Federations, and officials from the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
India finished fourth in the medal tally at the Asian Games held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, winning 85 medals, including 21 gold, 27 silver and 37 bronze. This was India’s second-largest medal haul at the Asian Games, only behind Hangzhou 2023 where the Indian contingent bagged a record haul of 106 medals, including 28 gold, reflecting the country’s growing competitiveness across a diverse range of sporting disciplines.
India recorded several notable achievements at the Games, including historic performances in recurve archery, gold medals for both the men’s and women’s hockey teams in the same edition, and maiden medals in soft tennis and mixed martial arts (MMA).
Other significant achievements included India’s first-ever gold medal in the women’s trap event, a silver medal in weightlifting at the Asian Games after a gap of 28 years, and a silver medal in Greco-Roman wrestling, ending a 64-year wait for an Indian finalist in the discipline.
India won 24 medals in athletics, the most by any sport for India, despite producing just one gold. In archery, they won nine medals, including five golds, matching the record haul from Hangzhou. India swept all three compound team titles, while Chikitha Taniparthi and Sahil Jadhav’s mixed team victory also secured an LA 2028 Olympic quota.
In recurve, India medalled in all five events for its best-ever Asian Games campaign in the discipline, with Kumkum Mohod winning the women’s individual gold and another LA 2028 Olympic quota.
Meanwhile, Pranavi Urs became the first Indian woman to win an individual Asian Games golf gold, ending the country’s 24-year wait for a title in the sport. She then joined Aditi Ashok and Diksha Dagar to win silver in the women’s team event – another Indian first.
(IANS)
