Asian Games 2026: Kumkum Mohod, Pranavi Urs make history; India strike gold in cricket, hockey, wrestling

rfys Oct 03, 2026

rfys

Gold medals from Kumkum Mohod in recurve archery and the men’s hockey team also helped India secure Olympic quotas in the two sports.

India successfully defended their men’s hockey and cricket titles at the Asian Games 2026 on Saturday, while Kumkum Mohod, Pranavi Urs and Aman Sehrawat added individual gold medals on a memorable day at Aichi-Nagoya.

The Indian men’s hockey team defeated Malaysia 5-1 in the final, with captain Harmanpreet Singh scoring twice and Jugraj Singh, Hardik Singh and Shilanand Lakra also finding the net.

The victory secured India a direct quota for the LA 2028 Olympics and marked their fifth Asian Games men’s hockey title. Manpreet Singh also became the first Indian hockey player to win three Asian Games gold medals.

India’s men’s cricket team retained its title with a 19-run victory over Pakistan. Abhishek Sharma smashed 61 off 28 balls and Tilak Varma made an unbeaten 51 off 22 as India posted 211/6 before restricting Pakistan to 192/6.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, meanwhile, became the youngest Indian to win a gold medal at the Asian Games, aged 15 years, six months and six days.

Kumkum, Pranavi and Aman win individual golds

Another teenager, 17-year-old Kumkum Mohod became the first Indian to win an individual recurve archery gold at the Asian Games. She beat South Korea’s Oh Yejin in a shoot-off after the women’s final finished level at 5-5, while her run to the final also secured India an LA 2028 quota.

Neeraj Chauhan added bronze in the men’s individual recurve event as India ended the Games with nine archery medals - five gold, two silver and two bronze.

Pranavi Urs also created history by becoming the first Indian woman to win an Asian Games golf title. The 23-year-old finished the four rounds at 15-under 265, one stroke clear of her nearest challengers.

Pranavi also combined with Aditi Ashok and Diksha Dagar for women’s team silver, India’s first Asian Games medal in the event.
In wrestling, Aman Sehrawat defeated reigning world champion Han Chong Song of DPR Korea 11-7 to win the men’s freestyle 57kg gold.

Antim Panghal took silver in the women’s 53kg, while Deepak Punia claimed the men's 97kg bronze. The three medals took India’s wrestling tally at Aichi-Nagoya to six - two gold, two silver and two bronze - their best Asian Games campaign in the sport since 1962.