Asian Games 2026 day 12 : China Surges Past 150 Golds as India Produces Four-Gold Archery and Shooting Show

 

The 12th day of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games produced another dramatic reshuffling of the medal standings, with China continuing its extraordinary dominance while Japan and South Korea remained comfortably in second and third positions. Uzbekistan, Thailand and Bahrain also maintained their positions among the leading nations. India, meanwhile, enjoyed its most productive day of the Games, winning four gold medals and adding further medals in boxing and wrestling.

China: China continued to set the pace and crossed the remarkable landmark of 150 gold medals. One of the biggest highlights came in diving, where Lian Junjie won the men's 10m platform title. His victory gave China its 100th consecutive Asian Games diving gold since the sport's debut for the country at the 1974 Games. China also reached the men's football semi-final, but its campaign ended with a 1-2 defeat to South Korea.

Japan: The host nation remained second in the standings and continued to add medals across several disciplines. Japan also secured a place in the men's football final after defeating Uzbekistan on penalties following a 1-1 draw after extra time. Sena Ishibashi scored Japan's late equaliser before the hosts prevailed 9-8 in the shoot-out. Japan's overall medal haul continued to remain far behind China but comfortably ahead of South Korea.

South Korea: South Korea had a significant day in men's football as it defeated China 2-1 to reach the final for a record fourth consecutive Asian Games. China took the lead through Wang Yudong, but Lee Young-jun equalised before Bae Jun-ho scored the decisive goal in the 82nd minute. South Korea will meet Japan in the final. The Korean contingent also remained third overall in the medal standings, with its strength spread across several sports.

Uzbekistan: Uzbekistan continued to hold fourth place and remained particularly prominent in boxing and other combat sports. In the men's football semi-final, Uzbekistan led Japan before eventually losing on penalties after a 1-1 draw through extra time. In boxing, Turabek Khabibullaev defeated India's Kapil Pokhariya in the men's 90kg semi-final, sending the Uzbek boxer into the gold-medal bout and leaving Kapil with bronze.

Thailand: Thailand consolidated fifth place after a highly successful period in badminton, sepak takraw and esports. Kunlavut Vitidsarn won the men's singles badminton gold, while Thailand also collected gold in men's sepak takraw and PUBG MOBILE esports. The three victories had already taken Thailand to 12 gold medals and 33 medals overall, keeping the country ahead of Bahrain in the standings.

Bahrain: Bahrain remained sixth and continued to draw heavily on athletics for its medal success. Birhanu Balew produced one of the country's notable performances by defending his Asian Games 5,000m title in 13:30.79, adding to the 10,000m gold he had won earlier in the Games. India's Gulveer Singh finished third behind Balew and Japan's Tomonori Yamaguchi. Balew's victory brought Bahrain's athletics campaign to a close with a substantial medal haul.

India: India produced its outstanding day of the Games so far, collecting four gold medals. The compound archery teams completed a remarkable clean sweep. Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Chikitha Taniparthi and Prithika Pradeep defeated China 238-234 in the women's team final; Chikitha Taniparthi and Sahil Jadhav beat South Korea in a shoot-off after the mixed final finished 157-157; and Kushal Dalal, Sahil Jadhav and Ganesh Mani Ratnam Thirumuru defeated China 238-237 in the men's final. Shooting then produced India's fourth gold of the day, with Neeru Dhanda and Kynan Chenai winning the mixed trap team title and setting a new Asian Games record.

India added further medals in boxing and wrestling. Priya Ghanghas and Kapil Pokhariya won bronze after losing their respective semi-finals, while Narendra Berwal also secured a boxing bronze. Sunil Kumar won bronze in men's Greco-Roman 87kg and became the first Indian Greco-Roman wrestler to win medals at two successive Asian Games. Lovlina Borgohain reached the women's 75kg final after defeating Kazakhstan's Natalya Bogdanova 3-2, becoming the first Indian woman boxer to reach consecutive Asian Games finals. The women's hockey team also defeated South Korea 2-0 to reach the gold-medal match against China.

Overall medals tally after Day 12: At the end of September 30, China led the Asian Games with 150 gold, 66 silver and 59 bronze medals, 275 in total. Japan was second with 50 gold, 76 silver and 73 bronze (199), followed by South Korea with 24 gold, 30 silver and 48 bronze (102). Uzbekistan had 16 gold, 19 silver and 19 bronze (54), while Thailand stood fifth with 12 gold, 10 silver and 12 bronze (34). Iran had 11 gold, 16 silver and 12 bronze (39), while Bahrain had 11 gold, 5 silver and 5 bronze (21). India finished the day with 10 gold, 21 silver and 29 bronze medals, 60 in total, placing eighth in the latest end-of-Day-12 standings.