Asian Games 2026: Day 8 Report — China Crosses 200 Medals as India Enjoys Seven-Medal Haul

 

The eighth day of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on September 27 was another action-packed day, with China continuing its extraordinary dominance at the top of the medal standings. Hosts Japan remained firmly in second place, while South Korea, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Thailand continued to occupy the next positions. India enjoyed a seven-medal haul, with athletics producing five podium finishes and squash contributing two historic silver medals. 

China continued to set the pace, crossing the remarkable landmark of 200 medals during the day. By the end of Day 8, China had accumulated 119 gold, 48 silver and 38 bronze medals for 205 overall. Chinese athletes remained dominant across a wide range of disciplines, maintaining a huge advantage over the rest of the field. The country's strength across athletics, shooting, swimming, gymnastics and other sports ensured that its lead continued to grow as the Games entered their second week. 

Japan maintained second place and continued to benefit from home advantage. The hosts reached 37 gold, 62 silver and 58 bronze medals, for 157 overall by the close of Day 8. Japan's athletes continued to collect medals across several disciplines, keeping the host nation comfortably ahead of South Korea in the overall standings. The Japanese challenge remained particularly strong in athletics and aquatic sports, while their performances across team and individual events helped maintain their position as China's closest challenger in the table. 

South Korea strengthened its third position after another productive day. South Korea's men's sabre fencing team won gold, with Oh Sang-uk producing a dramatic comeback in the final bout against Japan. The Korean women's basketball team also captured gold, defeating Japan 75-70 in the final, with Lee Hae-ran leading the way with 24 points and nine rebounds. South Korea also added medals in canoeing and diving. Its overall tally reached 21 gold, 23 silver and 39 bronze medals — 83 medals in all. 

Uzbekistan continued its strong campaign in fourth place. The Central Asian nation reached 10 gold medals and 38 medals overall, with 17 silver and 11 bronze. Uzbekistan's success continued to come from a broad range of sports, with combat sports, athletics and canoe disciplines among its important medal sources. Its growing gold-medal tally kept it ahead of Kazakhstan despite the two nations remaining relatively close in total medals. 

Kazakhstan remained fifth, collecting nine gold, 10 silver and 21 bronze medals for 40 overall. Kazakhstan's medal total was actually higher than Uzbekistan's, but Uzbekistan remained ahead because the Asian Games standings are determined first by gold medals, followed by silver and bronze. Kazakhstan continued to add medals through its strong performances in shooting, canoeing, combat sports and other individual events. 

Thailand also remained among the leading six nations, reaching nine gold, seven silver and 10 bronze medals for 26 overall. Thailand's athletes continued to perform strongly in traditional Asian sports as well as athletics and other disciplines. The country stayed ahead of Iran in the gold-medal standings and remained one of the most successful delegations outside the leading East and Central Asian powers. 

India enjoyed a particularly productive Day 8, adding seven medals without winning a gold. Athletics was the biggest contributor, with Ancy Sojan winning silver in the women's long jump with 6.53m, while Sarvesh Kushare took silver in the men's high jump after clearing 2.25m. Harita Bhadra won bronze in the women's 200m, Parul Chaudhary secured bronze in the women's 3000m steeplechase, and Tejaswin Shankar claimed bronze in the decathlon with 7,934 points. 

Squash provided two more historic moments for India. Anahat Singh won silver in the women's singles after losing to Malaysia's Sivasangari Subramaniam in the final, while Abhay Singh also took silver after being defeated by Malaysia's Ng Eain Yow in the men's final. Anahat's medal was particularly significant as she became the first Indian woman to win an Asian Games singles medal in squash. 

India's day was mixed in other sports. Three Indian boxers — Parveen Hooda, Ankush Panghal and Narender Berwal — reached their respective semifinals and assured themselves of medals. However, India's badminton campaign ended without an individual medal after PV Sindhu, Unnati Hooda, Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand and Tanisha Crasto-Dhruv Kapila all lost their quarter-finals. 

At the end of Day 8, India stood 12th with 37 medals — four gold, 16 silver and 17 bronze. Despite winning seven medals during the day, India dropped from 10th to 12th because it did not add a gold while several countries above it increased their gold-medal totals.