Asian Games 2026: Day 3 — India Finally Strike Gold as China Continue to Dominate

 

The third day of competition at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games produced another busy programme across a wide variety of sports, with swimming, shooting, badminton, cricket, kabaddi, table tennis, wushu, karate and several other disciplines attracting attention. China continued to set the pace at the top of the medal standings, while hosts Japan and South Korea also remained prominent. The day also produced several significant performances from athletes across the continent, including another strong showing by China's teenage swimming sensation Yu Zidi and a world-record performance by Chinese shooters in the 10m air-rifle mixed team event. 

China once again enjoyed a highly productive day in the pool. Thirteen-year-old Yu Zidi continued to make headlines after already winning two individual gold medals, while Peng Xuwei won the women's 200m backstroke in an Asian Games record time of 2:05.77. China's dominance was also evident in shooting, where Olympic champion Sheng Lihao and Wang Zifei combined to win the 10m air-rifle mixed team gold with a world-record score of 507.1. Sheng thus added another gold to his collection after already winning the individual and men's team 10m air-rifle titles. 

Japan also had an important day in front of its home crowd. Seventeen-year-old Yumeki Kojima produced one of the performances of the day by winning the men's 400m individual medley in a Games-record time of 4:07.02, which was also a world junior record. His victory added to Japan's growing medal collection and provided another memorable moment for the host nation. 

The day's competition also brought historic moments for several other Asian nations. Afghanistan celebrated a landmark silver medal in women's road cycling through Fariba Hashimi, who finished behind China's Guo Li. Hashimi's achievement carried particular significance because of her difficult journey as an Afghan athlete and her comments about the opportunities available to the next generation of Afghan women. 

In the team sports, competition intensified across several disciplines. Kabaddi, hockey, badminton and table tennis produced important group and knockout results, while cricket continued to attract considerable attention. The Asian Games' cricket competition also provided a major highlight for India, with the women's final producing one of the biggest results of the day. 

India's Performance

India finally opened its gold-medal account on Day 3 through the women's cricket team. Defending champions India produced a commanding performance against Sri Lanka in the T20 final, scoring 216 for three after being asked to bat and then dismissing Sri Lanka for just 69. India won by 147 runs to retain the Asian Games women's cricket title. Smriti Mandhana led the batting effort with 79 from 45 balls, while Shafali Verma scored 48 from 29 balls and Richa Ghosh finished unbeaten on 49 from only 22 deliveries. 

Mandhana's innings was particularly noteworthy as she became the first woman to reach 11,000 international runs. India's opening pair of Mandhana and Shafali put together a 99-run partnership, setting the platform for a huge total. The bowlers then completed a comprehensive victory, with Sri Lanka bowled out for 69 in less than 16 overs. Pakistan defeated Bangladesh in the bronze-medal match, completing the women's cricket podium. 

The gold medal was especially significant for India because the country had begun the Games with six medals but without a gold. The cricket triumph therefore became India's first gold of Aichi-Nagoya 2026 and lifted the country's overall tally to seven medals — one gold, four silver and two bronze. 

There were mixed results for India in other sports. Elavenil Valarivan and Parth Mane missed out on another shooting medal after finishing fourth in the 10m air-rifle mixed team final with 376.3 points. India also suffered a 3-1 defeat to Japan in the women's badminton team quarter-final, although Lakshya Sen produced an impressive comeback victory over Japan's Kodai Naraoka in the men's competition. 

India's men's kabaddi team continued its strong campaign with a comprehensive 63-31 victory over South Korea, while the women's table-tennis team defeated Thailand 3-2. The badminton men's team also kept its medal hopes alive, with Lakshya's victory contributing to India's progress in the team quarter-final. 

The Indian campaign therefore ended Day 3 with a mixture of a major gold-medal triumph and some disappointing results in other events. The women's cricket team's successful title defence provided the day's headline, while shooting, kabaddi, badminton, table tennis and other sports continued to offer India further medal opportunities in the days ahead. 

Medal Tally

At the conclusion of Day 3, China remained at the top of the Asian Games medal table, while Japan and South Korea occupied the next positions. India's women's cricket gold took its tally to 1 gold, 4 silver and 2 bronze — 7 medals overall. Reports available late on Day 3 confirmed China's lead with 53 medals, including 32 golds. 

Overall medal tally at the end of Day 3: China — 32 Gold, 15 Silver, 6 Bronze, 53 Total; Japan — 9 Gold, 13 Silver, 14 Bronze, 36 Total; South Korea — 5 Gold, 4 Silver, 15 Bronze, 24 Total; Kazakhstan — 5 Gold, 1 Silver, 3 Bronze, 9 Total; Thailand — 4 Gold, 1 Silver, 0 Bronze, 5 Total; Hong Kong, China — 2 Gold, 3 Silver, 4 Bronze, 9 Total; Chinese Taipei — 1 Gold, 3 Silver, 4 Bronze, 8 Total; Macao, China — 1 Gold, 3 Silver, 0 Bronze, 4 Total; Myanmar — 1 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze, 3 Total; Uzbekistan — 1 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze, 3 Total; Kuwait — 1 Gold, 0 Silver, 2 Bronze, 3 Total; and India — 1 Gold, 4 Silver, 2 Bronze, 7 Total.