Asian Games 2026: RF athlete Sawan Barwal sets national record in marathon; Tilottama Sen wins shooting silver

Reliance Foundation (RF) athletes Sawan Barwal and Tilottama Sen won silver medals as India enjoyed another productive day at the Asian Games 2026 on Saturday.

Sawan produced a national record in the men’s marathon, clocking 2:11:37 to finish second. The performance improved his own national mark by 21 seconds and earned India its first Asian Games medal in the event since 1982.

Shooter Tilottama, meanwhile, combined with Vidarsa K Vinod and Ashi Chouksey to claim silver in the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions team event. The Indian trio aggregated 1763 points, behind gold medallists China.

RF athlete Tejaswin Shankar ended the opening day of the men’s decathlon at the top of the standings with 4338 points, holding an 80-point lead heading into the final five events.

Sprinter Animesh Kujur reached the men’s 200m final, while fellow RF athletes Harita Bhadra and Unnathi Aiyappa Bolland qualified for the women’s 200m final.

India add two golds and multiple medals

India struck gold in both kabaddi competitions. The women defeated Iran 37-34 in the final before the men completed the double with a 40-34 victory over the same opposition.

Tajinderpal Singh Toor completed a hat-trick of Asian Games medals in the men’s shot put, winning silver with a best effort of 20.64m. The Indian thrower had won gold at the previous two editions, at Jakarta 2018 and Hangzhou 2023.

Prachi Choudhary claimed bronze in the women’s 400m in 53.21 seconds.

Joshna Chinappa and Velavan Senthilkumar secured squash mixed doubles bronze, while Anahat Singh and Abhay Singh reached the women’s and men’s singles finals respectively.

In archery, Dhiraj Bommadevara topped men’s recurve qualification with 698 points, setting an Asian record. India finished third in the men’s team qualification.

The Indian men’s hockey team also booked its place in the semi-finals after defeating hosts Japan 2-0 in Pool A.