India's contingent saw strong performances on September 28 at the 2026 Asian Games, highlighted by Esha Singh's pistol silver, Lovlina Borgohain reaching the boxing semifinals, and the men's cricket team progressing.
Reigning world number one Esha Singh clinched a silver medal in the women's 25m pistol final at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya on September 28. The 21-year-old from Hyderabad battled through five consecutive shoot-offs before missing gold by a single shot to China's Xiao Jiaruixuan. Meanwhile, two-time Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker finished 11th with a score of 579, failing to advance to the final.
In the boxing ring, Olympic bronze-medallist Lovlina Borgohain (75kg) assured herself of at least a bronze medal after out-punching South Korea's Seong Suyeon 5-0 in her quarterfinal bout. The Assam boxer joined teammates Parveen Hooda (65kg), Ankush Panghal (80kg), and Narender Berwal (+90kg) in cruising into the semifinals.
The Indian men's cricket team entered the Asian Games semifinals without taking the field after its quarterfinal contest against Afghanistan was abandoned due to inclement weather. Defending champions India advanced by virtue of holding the No. 1 spot in the ICC T20I rankings compared to Afghanistan's 10th-place ranking. India will face the winner of the quarterfinal match between Nepal and Sri Lanka.
In other team action, the Indian men's volleyball team recorded its second consecutive Pool C victory with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-21) win over Hong Kong, China. India's women's team squash campaign opened with a 2-1 win against China following straight-game victories by Tanvi Khanna and Joshna Chinappa. In Kurash, 27-year-old Pincky Balhara secured at least a bronze medal in the women's -78kg category by defeating South Korea's Lim Garam 3-0, while India's women's doubles sepaktakraw duo finished last in their group following a 1-2 loss to Japan.
Reporting sourced from The Hindu Sport. Photo courtesy The Hindu Sport.