Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games close: India finishes fourth as Doha takes 2030 handover

The Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games closed in Japan on October 4, 2026, with India fourth in the final medal standings. India won 85 medals—21 gold, 27 silver and 37 bronze—while China topped the table. At the closing ceremony in Nagoya, the Games flame was extinguished and Qatar received the ceremonial handover for the next edition in Doha in 2030.

What happened at the closing ceremony?

Athletes returned to Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium for a final parade after 16 days of competition. The evening programme combined music, dance and performances celebrating the competitors and the Japanese hosts. Indian shooter Neeru Dhanda carried the national flag; she had won two gold medals and a silver during the Games.

Following the closing speeches, the Olympic Council of Asia flag was lowered and passed to representatives of Qatar. Ceremonial symbols linked to the first Asian Games, held in New Delhi in 1951, were also part of the handover. Qatar’s flag was raised, its anthem played and a Doha presentation offered a glimpse of the next host city. The extinguishing of the flame marked the formal end of Aichi-Nagoya 2026.

Doha will stage the 21st Asian Games in 2030, returning as host 24 years after it first held the event in 2006. The handover transferred the spotlight from Japan’s third Asian Games to Qatar’s preparations for its second.

Final medal standings

China finished first with 169 gold, 89 silver and 83 bronze medals, for a total of 341. Host Japan was second with 83 gold, 95 silver and 91 bronze, totaling 269. South Korea took third with 39 gold, 43 silver and 68 bronze, totaling 150.

Gold medals determined the ranking, followed by silver and then bronze. That distinction mattered immediately below the top three: India and Uzbekistan each won 21 golds, but India’s 27 silvers put it ahead of Uzbekistan’s 25. India also had 37 bronzes to Uzbekistan’s 24, leaving it 15 medals ahead on the overall count.

What India’s finish means

Fourth place matched India’s position at the previous Asian Games in Hangzhou, held in 2023, but its medal haul was smaller. The official Hangzhou table records 107 Indian medals, including 28 gold; Aichi-Nagoya’s final count was 22 medals and seven golds lower. The comparison is a measure of medals won, not a change in India’s place among the leading teams.

India’s final weekend included golds in men’s cricket and men’s hockey. The hockey side retained its title with a 5-1 win over Malaysia, while the cricket team beat Pakistan by 19 runs in its final. Those results helped secure fourth place before Dhanda led the Indian contingent into the closing ceremony.

The Games began on September 19 and brought together teams from 45 national Olympic committees. By the October 4 wrap-up, 40 had won at least one medal. With competition complete and the host-city ceremony over, the final standings now fix India’s place at Aichi-Nagoya: fourth, behind China, Japan and South Korea, as the Asian Games move on to Doha.