India at Asian Games on September 26: Barwal Silver, Kabaddi Double and Medal Tally Update

India collected seven medals on a productive September 26 at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, with Sawan Barwal’s historic marathon silver and a golden kabaddi double providing the biggest moments. Shooting, squash and athletics also added to the total, although several leading medal contenders suffered early exits.

At the close of the latest completed events, India stood 10th in the medal table with 30 medals: four gold, 12 silver and 14 bronze.

September 26 medal results

• Gold — Women’s kabaddi: India defeated Iran 37-34 in a closely contested final to retain the title.
• Gold — Men’s kabaddi: India recovered from a tight first half to beat Iran 40-34, securing the country’s ninth men’s kabaddi gold at the Asian Games.
• Silver — Sawan Barwal, men’s marathon: Barwal finished in 2:11:37, setting a national record and ending India’s 44-year wait for an Asian Games marathon medal.
• Silver — Women’s 50m rifle 3 positions team: Ashi Chouksey, Tilottama Sen and Vidarsa Vinod combined for 1,763 points to finish behind China.
• Silver — Tajinderpal Singh Toor, men’s shot put: The two-time defending champion recorded 20.64 metres and finished 17 centimetres behind Iran’s Mohammadreza Tayebi.
• Bronze — Joshna Chinappa and Velavan Senthilkumar, squash mixed doubles: The Indian pair lost a tense semifinal to Hong Kong’s Lee Ka Yi and Tang Ming Hong, 10-11, 11-2, 10-11.
• Bronze — Prachi Choudhary, women’s 400m: Prachi clocked 53.21 seconds to take third place in the final.

Sawan Barwal delivers the morning breakthrough

Barwal produced India’s standout individual performance of the day in the men’s marathon. His 2:11:37 run was both a personal best and a national record, earning silver behind Japan’s Yamashita.

The result gave India its first Asian Games medal in the marathon since the 1982 edition in New Delhi. Kartik Karkera, India’s other entrant in the race, finished outside the medal positions.

Major results across the September 26 schedule

India’s men’s hockey team maintained its unbeaten run by defeating host nation Japan 2-0. Abhishek opened the scoring before captain Harmanpreet Singh added the second goal, confirming India’s place in the semifinals.

In badminton, PV Sindhu advanced to the women’s singles third round with a 21-19, 21-14 victory over Chinese Taipei’s Chiu Pin-chian. Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand also progressed, beating Japan’s Mayu Matsumoto and Yuki Fukushima 24-22, 21-19 in women’s doubles.

Squash delivered two more encouraging results. Anahat Singh reached the women’s singles final after recovering from two games down to defeat Japan’s Satomi Watanabe 9-11, 11-13, 12-10, 11-6, 11-3. Abhay Singh joined her in a singles final by beating Pakistan’s Muhammad Irfan 11-3, 12-10, 11-6.

Notable exits and missed medals

Lakshya Sen’s men’s singles badminton campaign ended in the second round against Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew. The former world champion won 21-12, 15-21, 21-14. Ayush Shetty was also eliminated after losing a three-game contest to Chinese Taipei’s Chou Tien Chen.

On the athletics track, Parul Chaudhary narrowly missed the women’s 1500m podium, finishing fourth in 4:09.46. TK Vishal placed fifth in the men’s 400m final, while Jyothi Yarraji was recorded as a non-starter in the women’s 100m hurdles heats. Praveen Chithravel withdrew from the men’s triple jump final after appearing to experience discomfort during his preparation.

Manpreet bronze and Satwik-Chirag shock exit

Two significant results from September 25 remained central to India’s Games story. Manpreet Kaur won bronze in the women’s shot put with a best effort of 17.17 metres, becoming only the third Indian woman to earn an Asian Games medal in the event.

Badminton produced a much less welcome result. Defending men’s doubles champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty were eliminated in the opening round by Thailand’s Pakkapon Teeraratsakul and Peeratchai Sukphun. The Indian pair won the opening game but lost 21-12, 19-21, 14-21, ending their title defence far earlier than expected.

With September 26 completed, India’s campaign had gained momentum through seven medals and two kabaddi titles. The advancement of Anahat Singh and Abhay Singh also guaranteed continued Indian interest in the upcoming squash finals.