Asian Games 2026: India seals kabaddi double on September 26

India completed a golden kabaddi double at the Asian Games on September 26, with both the women’s and men’s teams defeating Iran in their respective finals. The women won 37-34 before the men followed with a 40-34 victory, as India successfully defended both titles.

The double gold headlined a productive day across several sports. By the end of the day, India’s medal tally stood at 30, comprising four gold medals, 12 silver and 14 bronze. Squash players Anahat Singh and Abhay Singh also booked places in the women’s and men’s singles finals, adding another major storyline to India’s programme.

Kabaddi golds lead India’s September 26 haul

India’s women held off Iran 37-34 in a close final to secure the first of the two kabaddi titles. The men then beat Iran 40-34 in another tightly contested decider, completing the sweep for India.

Shooting added a silver medal through Tilottama Sen, Vidarsa Vinod and Ashi Chouksey in the women’s 50m rifle 3P team event. In the individual final, Tilottama placed fourth while Vidarsa finished fifth.

There were two further silver medals in athletics. Sawan Barwal finished second in the men’s marathon, while Tajinderpal Singh Toor took silver in the men’s shot put with a throw of 20.64m. Prachi Chaudhary contributed bronze in the women’s 400m.

India also had athletes progressing in track events. Animesh Kujur qualified for the 200m final, while Gulveer Singh and Yoonus Shah advanced to the 1500m final.

Squash finalists and badminton progress

Anahat Singh reached the women’s singles squash final and Abhay Singh moved into the men’s singles final, giving India two opportunities to add to its medal count. Joshna Chinappa and Velavan Senthilkumar secured bronze in mixed doubles.

In badminton, PV Sindhu, Unnati Hooda, Ayush Shetty and the women’s doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand progressed. Treesa and Gayatri recorded a notable win over world No. 3 pair Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto. Ayush and Lakshya Sen later exited the competition.

India’s men’s hockey team beat Japan 2-0, with Abhishek and Harmanpreet Singh scoring the goals. In archery, Dhiraj Bommadevara topped the recurve qualification round and set a Games record, while Chikitha Taniparthi finished first in compound qualification.

Mixed results across the remaining events

Boxers Kapil Pokhariya and Priya Ghanghas advanced in their events, while Jadumani Singh exited. India’s table tennis campaign came to an end after Manush Shah and Yashaswini Ghorpade lost their singles matches.

India also finished without medals in fencing and esports. In canoeing, Geetha Parvathy and Sathyaprakash Chempadiyil placed ninth in the mixed kayak double 500m, while Harshwardhan Shaktawat was 10th overall in the men’s kayak single.

The kabaddi titles, combined with the shooting and athletics medals and the two squash final berths, made September 26 a significant day for India’s overall Asian Games campaign. With 30 medals already on the board, the upcoming squash finals and athletics finals offered further opportunities for the contingent.