The Indian Women’s Cricket team reasserted its continental dominance by clinching a second successive gold medal at the Asian Games, thrashing Sri Lanka by 147 runs in the final at Nisshin in Japan today. Opting to bat, India posted 216 for the loss of three wickets in the stipulated 20 overs, the highest total in Asian Games history, riding on Smriti Mandhana’s 79 runs off 45 balls and Richa Ghosh’s 48 off 22. In reply, Sri Lanka were bowled out for just 69 in 15.4 overs. This is India’s first gold medal at the ongoing Asiad and overall seventh medal.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the Women’s Cricket Team on the feat. Calling it a splendid triumph for Indian cricket, Mr Modi said that this victory also brings India its first Gold of this edition of the Games. In a social media post, he said that it was a commanding performance marked by confidence, skill, and wonderful teamwork. The Prime Minister said that the team has made the nation proud and will inspire countless young cricketers across the country.
Indian men’s Badminton team defeated hosts Japan in the quarterfinals and assured itself of a medal at the Asian Games. Lakshya Sen was staring at defeat after losing the opening game and trailing 14-19 in the decider. However, Lakshya made a comeback, reeling off seven straight points to beat world No.7 and two-time world championships silver-medallist Kodai Naraoka 11-21, 21-5, 21-19 to give India a 1-0 lead. Playing the first doubles, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, who have won two titles this season, registered a 21-18, 24-22 win over former world champions Hoki Takuro and Kobayashi Yugo to extend India’s lead to 2-0. Ayush Shetty then produced an impressive performance to see off world no. 16 Koki Watanabe 21-10 21-19 to seal the match and a medal for India. The Indian men were the silver-medallists of the last edition.
In Wushu, India’s Roshibina Devi also confirmed a medal at the Asian Games after securing a 5-0 win over Chu Man Sin of Macao, in the Women’s 60kg quarterfinals. Roshibina, the 2018 and 2022 Asiad medallist, has now secured a third continental medal with another strong performance to advance to the semifinals. Roshibina will now be in action in the semifinals tomorrow for a place in the final. She is already a silver medallist from the 2023 Asian Games, when she came second in the Sanda 60 kg category. She also bagged a bronze medal in the 2018 Jakarta Games in the same weight category.
Apart from her, India’s Aryan also moved to the quarterfinals as he fights for a medal. Aryan defeated Afghanistan’s Safi Shahzada in the Men’s 56kg pre-quarters 2-0 to progress into the quarterfinals.
Indian boxer Jadumani Singh defeated Nepal’s Chandra Bahadur Thapa to march into the pre-quarters in the Men’s 55kg preliminary round at the Nishio Gymnasium in Japan today. Commonwealth Games silver medallist Jadumani registered a unanimous 5-0 win over the reigning World Championships’ bronze medallist Thapa with a brilliant bout. Jadumani will now be up against Filipino boxer Carlo Paalam in the pre-quarters on Saturday. Paalam is a silver medallist from the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
Earlier, Glasgow Games gold medallist Sakshi Chaudhary defeated Paris Olympics bronze medallist Aira Villegas in the preliminary round at the Asian Games 2026 to march into the pre-quarters. Sakshi outclassed the Filipino pugilist by a unanimous decision of 5-0. She will be facing current 51kg world champion Alua Balkibekova on Thursday.
In Men’s Cricket, India narrowly avoided a historic upset, defeating hosts Japan by two runs in a rain-curtailed, five-overs-a-side one-off T20 International match at the Sano International Cricket Ground today. This was India’s 200th victory in T20 Internationals, including Super Over wins. After a nearly 2.5-hour delay due to a wet outfield, India skipper Shreyas Iyer won the toss and opted to bat first. However, Japan’s spinners made the most of the conditions, restricting the visitors to 32 for 4 after five overs. Chasing 33 off 30 balls, Japan gave India a major scare and came agonisingly close to pulling off one of the biggest upsets in their cricketing history. Washington Sundar struck twice to halt Japan’s momentum, while Axar Patel kept things tight with his experience and control. The hosts managed to score 30 for 3 in five overs and eventually fell two runs short, handing India a nervy victory.
