India’s Asian Games 2026 campaign produced its biggest medal-winning burst on Day 13, with six gold medals across archery, boxing, wrestling and women’s hockey. The 10-medal haul took India’s overall tally to 76 medals 16 gold, 25 silver and 35 bronze and moved the country into fifth place in the Asian Games medal tally.

India saved one of its most remarkable performances of the Asian Games 2026 for the penultimate stretch of competition.

Day 13 in Aichi-Nagoya turned into a golden Friday for the Indian contingent as athletes delivered six gold medals across four sports, while two silver and two bronze medals further swelled the country’s medal count. By the end of October 2, India had accumulated 76 medals at the Asian Games 2026, comprising 16 gold, 25 silver and 35 bronze.

The surge also lifted India into fifth place in the Asian Games medal tally, behind China, Japan, South Korea and Uzbekistan. Although Uzbekistan had fewer total medals than India, its higher number of gold medals kept it fourth in the standings, underlining how Asian Games rankings are primarily determined by gold-medal count.

India’s Day 13 medal haul

The day began with history in archery and ended with another historic breakthrough in women’s hockey. In between, Indian boxers produced three gold-medal performances, while wrestler Sujeet Kalkal completed a dramatic comeback to claim the wrestling title.

Asian Games 2026 medal tally: India breaks into the top five

At the end of Day 13, China remained comfortably ahead in the overall medal standings, while hosts Japan and South Korea occupied the next two positions. Uzbekistan stayed fourth, with India moving into fifth after its six-gold haul.

India’s position is particularly notable because the country had more total medals than Uzbekistan but remained behind it because Uzbekistan had four more gold medals. The Asian Games medal table is not ordered simply by total medals; gold medals carry the primary ranking weight.

India’s 76-medal haul therefore represented a major jump from its position earlier in the competition. The six golds won on Day 13 were especially important because they came in multiple disciplines rather than from a single dominant sport.

Women’s recurve archery team makes history

One of the first major breakthroughs of the day came from Ankita Bhakat, Kirti Sharma and Kumkum Anil Mohod.

The Indian women’s recurve team defeated China 5-1 in the semifinal before facing South Korea in the gold-medal contest. The Indian trio held its nerve in a closely fought final to win 5-3, giving India its first-ever Asian Games gold medal in the women’s recurve team event.

The achievement was significant not only because of the medal itself but because South Korea has traditionally been one of the strongest forces in international recurve archery.

Kumkum, still only 17, played an important role in the final, while the experience of Bhakat and the contribution of Sharma helped India maintain its composure through the pressure-filled contest.

The same discipline also produced two silver medals for India on Day 13.

Kumkum Mohod and Dhiraj Bommadevara won silver in the mixed recurve team event after India lost 3-5 to China in the final. Earlier, Dhiraj, Yashdeep Bhoge and Neeraj Chauhan had also secured silver in the men’s recurve team event after losing 1-5 to South Korea.

The three archery results alone gave India one gold and two silver medals on the day.

Lovlina Borgohain turns birthday into a golden celebration

Indian boxing then delivered a powerful sequence of victories.

Lovlina Borgohain won the women’s 75kg gold after defeating China’s Bao Ziyi 5-0 in the final. The victory came on Lovlina’s birthday, adding another memorable chapter to her career.

For Lovlina, the Asian Games gold was particularly significant after she had previously reached major finals without finishing with the title. Her victory also added another gold to India’s rapidly expanding boxing medal collection.

But Lovlina was only the beginning of India’s boxing success on Day 13.

Parveen Hooda and Ankush Panghal complete boxing double

Parveen Hooda produced one of the day’s closest boxing victories when she defeated Chinese Taipei’s Chen Nien-chin 3-2 in the women’s 65kg final.

The narrow decision came after Parveen had already defeated China’s Li Shu in the semifinal. Her gold was also notable in the context of her return to major international competition following a period away from the sport.

India then completed a three-gold boxing sweep through Ankush Panghal, who defeated South Korea’s Kim Minseong 4-0 in the men’s 80kg final.

The three victories meant India collected three boxing gold medals on the same day, adding considerable weight to its Asian Games medal tally.

Sujeet Kalkal produces one of the day’s biggest comebacks

If there was one result that captured the drama of Day 13, it was Sujeet Kalkal’s wrestling final.

Competing in the men’s freestyle 65kg category, Kalkal faced Tajikistan’s Abdulmazhid Kudiev in the gold-medal bout. The Indian wrestler found himself trailing 2-9 and appeared to be heading towards silver.

Instead, he launched a remarkable late comeback.

Kalkal scored eight points in the closing stages to turn the contest around and eventually win 10-9.

The result gave India its first wrestling gold medal of the 2026 Asian Games. Kalkal had already navigated a difficult route to the final, including victories over Iranian and Japanese opponents.

His gold also added another layer to India’s Day 13 success: six gold medals from four different sporting disciplines.

Women’s hockey ends a 44-year wait

The final major moment of the day came at the hockey venue, where India faced China for the women’s gold medal.

India won 1-0, with Lalremsiami scoring the decisive goal in the 10th minute.

China, the defending champion, responded with sustained pressure as the match progressed. India’s defence, however, held firm, with goalkeeper Savita Punia producing an important penalty-stroke save to protect the lead.

The victory ended a 44-year wait for India’s women’s hockey team, which had last won the Asian Games title in 1982.

It was only India’s second Asian Games women’s hockey gold. The team had finished runner-up in 1998 and 2018 before finally reclaiming the continental title in Aichi-Nagoya.

The triumph also carried an Olympic qualification reward. By winning the Asian Games title, India secured a direct qualification place for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics in women’s hockey.

For a team that had spent decades chasing another Asian Games title, the 1-0 victory over China became one of the defining moments of India’s Asian Games 2026 campaign.

Nethra Kumanan adds sailing bronze

India’s success on Day 13 was not limited to gold and silver.

Nethra Kumanan won bronze in the women’s dinghy sailing event. The Chennai-based sailor finished third overall with 14 points, behind Thailand’s Sophia Montgomery and Singapore’s Jania Ang.

Nethra’s medal was her first Asian Games podium finish and became India’s third sailing medal of the 2026 Games.

Her result also demonstrated the breadth of India’s medal-winning campaign. While archery, boxing, wrestling and hockey supplied the headline gold medals, sailing continued to contribute valuable podium finishes.

India wins first Asian Games medal in men’s quadrant sepaktakraw

Another historic bronze arrived from an unexpected discipline.

India’s men’s quadrant sepaktakraw team secured bronze after losing to Japan in the semifinal. The result gave India its first-ever Asian Games medal in the quadrant event.

The medal added to the two bronze medals and six golds won in other disciplines and helped push India’s overall Day 13 haul to 10 medals.

India’s Day 13 medal winners

A day that changed the shape of India’s Asian Games campaign

India’s Day 13 performance was about more than adding 10 medals to the tally.

The six gold medals arrived across sports with very different competitive landscapes. Archery produced a historic first, boxing delivered three titles, wrestling produced a dramatic comeback and women’s hockey ended a decades-long wait.

The two silver medals in recurve archery and the bronze medals in sailing and sepaktakraw added further depth to the performance.

By the end of October 2, India had 16 gold, 25 silver and 35 bronze medals, taking its total to 76 and placing it fifth in the overall Asian Games medal tally.

What makes the Day 13 haul significant?

First, the sheer number of gold medals changed India’s position in the standings. Second, several victories represented milestones that went beyond the medal table.

The women’s recurve team won India’s first Asian Games gold in that event. Sujeet Kalkal gave Indian wrestling its first gold of these Games. Nethra Kumanan secured her maiden Asian Games medal. The men’s quadrant sepaktakraw team delivered India’s first medal in that event. And the women’s hockey team finally reclaimed a title it had not won since 1982.

For Indian sport, Day 13 therefore became a collection of individual breakthroughs as much as a medal-winning day.

With the competition entering its final phase, India’s 76-medal tally had already established a strong platform for the closing events. The final stretch still held opportunities in several sports, meaning the medal count remained capable of changing before the Games concluded.

But regardless of what followed, October 2 had already secured its place as one of the most memorable days of India’s Asian Games 2026 campaign — a day when six gold medals, two silvers and two bronzes combined to produce a historic surge into the top five of the Asian Games medal table.

With input from agencies
Image Source: Multiple agencies
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