India’s Leading Gold Medal Contenders at Asian Games 2026

India will take a broad group of established champions, record holders and rising performers into the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya, with shooting, athletics, archery, squash, cricket and kabaddi among the sports carrying major gold-medal expectations. An Asiad gold also brings direct Olympic qualification in certain events, adding further importance to the campaign.

Women’s pistol shooting stands out as one of India’s strongest medal areas. Manu Bhaker, Esha Singh, Suruchi Phogat and Rahi Sarnobat are all presented as capable of challenging for the Asian title. Manu is a two-time Olympic medallist, while Suruchi has become India’s No. 1 in 10m pistol after a run of gold medals since her senior debut last year. Esha won three medals at ISSF World Cups this year, including two 25m pistol golds and a 10m silver, while 2018 Asian Games champion Rahi has returned to the Indian team after illness disrupted her career.

Strong cases across shooting, athletics and archery

Manu and Esha are entered in both the 10m and 25m disciplines, with Suruchi specialising in 10m and Rahi bringing experience in 25m. India’s hopes also extend to the mixed-team competition, where Suruchi is set to partner Kedarling Uchaganve.

Tajinderpal Singh Toor arrives as the two-time defending men’s shot put champion and remains a leading candidate for a third consecutive Asian Games gold. The 31-year-old has a season best of 21.03m, achieved in India in April, which is listed as Asia’s best mark of 2026. His personal best of 21.77m is also the national record. Iran’s Mohammad Reza Tayeb, at 20.75m, is identified as the next closest Asian this season.

In archery, Dhiraj Bommadevara has strengthened his standing after becoming the first Indian male recurve archer to win the Archery World Cup Final. He has won three World Cup gold medals this year across men’s individual and mixed events and is the 2025 Asian champion. Compound archery is another significant opportunity after India swept all five compound gold medals at the previous edition. Jyothi Surekha Vennam, a triple gold medallist in Hangzhou, returns for her fourth Asiad and will defend her titles.

Several track-and-field athletes enter with strong recent marks. Gulveer Singh, who won Commonwealth Games silver in the 10,000m and bronze in the 5,000m, owns a 27:24.18 season best in the longer event. That time is 12th in the world, with only Japan’s Suzuki Mebuki ahead of him among Asian runners. Gulveer was a 10,000m bronze medallist in Hangzhou and will also face Bahrain’s Birhanu Balew in the 5,000m.

Sreeshankar Murali has the best men’s long jump in Asia this year at 8.38m, close to his 8.41m personal best, after returning from surgery. Ancy Sojan has raised her personal best to 6.88m, breaking Anju Bobby George’s long-standing national record, while Sarvesh Kushare has improved to 2.31m in the men’s high jump. Avinash Sable and Parul Chaudhary are also noted as defending champions aiming to repeat their successes.

Team events and emerging contenders add depth

Sujeet Kalkal is a rising name in 65kg freestyle wrestling after winning Under-23 world and Asian titles, plus senior-level gold medals this year. His Asian Games test includes reigning Olympic champion Kotaro Kiyooka as the favourite. India’s men’s squash team, comprising Abhay Singh, Veer Chotrani, Velavan Senthilkumar and Suraj Chand, enters as defending champion and top seed. Abhay is also second seed in singles, where a gold would secure direct Olympic qualification.

India’s men’s and women’s cricket teams and men’s and women’s kabaddi teams are described as major favourites. India are reigning men’s and women’s Asia Cup champions in cricket, while the men are T20 world champions. In kabaddi, India are World Cup winners in both men’s and women’s competition. Their expected strength, alongside individual contenders across the programme, gives India multiple routes to Asian Games gold.