Asian Games 2026: RF stars Satwik-Chirag help India secure badminton medal

Reliance Foundation (RF) athletes were at the heart of India’s strong performances at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya on Tuesday, with Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty and Unnati Hooda featuring in the badminton team events.

Satwik and Chirag helped India beat hosts Japan 3-0 in the men’s badminton team quarter-final to secure a medal and progress to the semi-finals.

After Lakshya Sen produced a remarkable comeback to beat Kodai Naraoka 11-21, 21-5, 21-19, Satwik and Chirag faced former world champions Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi. The Indian pair edged a tightly contested opening game 21-18 before saving three match points in the second game to eventually win 24-22 and give India a 2-0 lead. Ayush Shetty then sealed the tie with a 21-10, 21-19 victory over Koki Watanabe.

Lakshya’s victory was one of the standout moments of the day. Trailing 13-19 in the deciding game, the Indian won eight of the next 10 points to complete a stunning 21-19 comeback against world No. 7 Naraoka and put India ahead in the tie.

In the women’s badminton team quarter-final, RF athlete Unnati Hooda and the Indian team went down 1-3 to Japan and were eliminated from the competition. Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand registered India’s only win, defeating Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto 21-17, 21-16.

India strike first gold

India won their first gold medal of the Asian Games 2026 after the women’s cricket team defeated Sri Lanka by 147 runs in the T20 final. Smriti Mandhana top-scored with 79, while Shafali Verma made 48 and Richa Ghosh smashed an unbeaten 49 off 22 balls. India posted 216/3, as a result, the highest score in women’s cricket at the Asian Games.

India’s bowlers then bowled Sri Lanka out for 69, with Deepti Sharma taking three wickets and Shafali Verma, Shree Charani and Shreyanka Patil claiming two each. The victory saw India successfully defend the women’s cricket title and take the country’s medal tally to seven.

India also enjoyed a dominant outing in men’s hockey, beating Sri Lanka 16-1 in their Pool A match. Jugraj Singh scored four goals, while Abhishek and Dilpreet Singh completed hat-tricks as India produced their biggest win of the day.

In shooting, Elavenil Valarivan and Parth Mane finished fourth in the 10m air rifle mixed team final after entering the medal round in second place.

Pranati Nayak made the cut in the women’s vault final in artistic gymnastics after finishing seventh in the qualification standings.

In fencing, Taniksha Khatri advanced to the round of 16 in the women’s individual épée after beating Thailand’s Natpapat Sangngio 15-10. Her campaign then ended against South Korea’s reigning world champion and Asian Games gold medallist Song Se-ra, who won 15-9.

Boxing also brought two convincing victories, with Jadumani Singh Mandengbam beating Nepal’s Chandra Bahadur Thapa 5-0 to reach the men’s 55kg round of 16. Sakshi Chaudhary impressed by defeating Olympic bronze medallist Aira Villegas of the Philippines 5-0 in the women’s 51kg category to also advance.

India’s women’s table tennis team beat Thailand 3-2 in the round of 16 before losing 0-3 to North Korea in the quarter-finals. The men’s team also exited the competition after a 0-3 defeat to South Korea in the round of 16.

In soft tennis, Aadhya Tiwari downed Pakistan’s Kainaat Shallwani in the women’s singles, while Aryan Thakur beat Mongolia’s Bold-Erdene Altangerel before losing to Chinese Taipei’s Chen Po-Yi later in the day.

India’s men’s 4x100m medley relay team of Rishabh Das, Akash Mani, Benediction Beniston and Dhanush Suresh finished eighth in the final, after qualifying as the seventh-best team overall. Aryan Nehra finished fourth in Final B of the men’s 1500m freestyle.

In kabaddi, India beat South Korea 63-31 in their Group A encounter, while Roshibina Devi assured India of another medal by reaching the women’s 60kg wushu semi-finals