India’s Biggest Disappointments at Asian Games 2026

India completed its Asian Games 2026 campaign in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, with 85 medals and fourth place overall, but the final tally did not erase a number of disappointing performances across key sports. A strong push over the final two days, led by Indian archers, boxers and male wrestlers, helped the contingent move beyond 20 gold medals and deliver the country’s second-best overall Asian Games showing.

Yet India’s slow start and several failures among established medal contenders remained a major part of the story. Tennis returned without a medal for the first time in 40 years, shooting produced a reduced haul, and individual badminton results failed to match expectations. Equestrian and women’s wrestling also finished below the standards set by previous editions.

Shooting and tennis leave India short of expectations

India’s shooting contingent collected 15 medals, but that total was seven fewer than its haul at the Hangzhou Asian Games. Pistol events were central to the drop, delivering only two medals in Aichi-Nagoya compared with eight in Hangzhou.

Women’s pistol shooting had been among India’s most reliable disciplines during the year, with double Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker joined by Suruchi and Esha Singh. The group, however, did not win a women’s team medal and India did not secure an individual air pistol gold, leaving the overall pistol return below expectations.

Esha Singh’s silver medal in the 25m pistol and Suruchi’s air pistol mixed team gold alongside Kamaljeet provided late positives. Even so, the results did not match the pre-Games expectations surrounding India’s pistol shooters.

Tennis was the largest setback. India’s seven-member contingent left the Games without a medal, ending a 40-year run. In men’s doubles, top seeds Anirudh Chandrasekar and Sriram Balaji were joined by the in-form pairing of Yuki Bhambri and Dhakshineshwar Suresh, but neither partnership advanced beyond the quarter-finals.

The outcome marked India’s first failure to progress further in men’s doubles since 1998. Despite warning signs on the circuit, including limited deep runs at ATP Masters and Grand Slam events following Rohan Bopanna’s retirement, hopes had remained high given the perceived standard of men’s tennis in Asia.

Badminton, equestrian and women’s wrestling also miss targets

India’s men’s badminton team did secure a second consecutive Asian Games medal. A 3-0 quarter-final win over Japan sent the side into the semi-finals, where it lost to China before taking bronze. The individual campaign, however, proved far less rewarding.

Reigning champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty exited in the first round against a Thai pair despite holding a 2-0 head-to-head record. Lakshya Sen lost to Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew in the round of 32, his second consecutive early departure at a major event after the home World Championships. Ayush Shetty then fell in the round of 16 to Chinese Taipei’s Chou Tien Chen.

India had won two individual badminton medals at the previous Asian Games, with Satwik-Chirag claiming gold and HS Prannoy taking singles bronze. This time, no Indian men’s singles player or men’s doubles pair reached the quarter-finals, underlining the scale of the shortfall.

Equestrian was another surprise blank. India had won two medals at the previous edition, including team gold led by Anush Agarwalla, who missed selection for these Games following the Equestrian Federation of India’s selection process. In Japan, the team finished fourth and Hriday Chheda was eighth in the individual competition.

Women’s wrestling produced just one medal, a silver from Antim Panghal. The other five categories did not yield a podium finish. India had won more than one women’s wrestling medal at each of the previous three Asian Games, but a young squad could not convert difficult draws, close defeats and repechage opportunities into additional medals. The results provide the clearest areas for India to address despite an historically strong overall medal total.