Asian Games 2026 Day 3: India Wins First Gold as Cricket, Badminton and Wushu Shine
India opened its gold medal account at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026 on Day 3 as the women's cricket team defeated Sri Lanka by 147 runs in the T20 final.
The day also brought assured medals in men's badminton and women's wushu, while India's men's hockey and kabaddi teams continued their winning campaigns.
India finished Day 3 with seven medals — one gold, four silver and two bronze.
India Wins First Gold Medal in Women's Cricket
The biggest moment of Day 3 came from the Indian women's cricket team.
India defeated Sri Lanka by 147 runs in the women's T20 final to successfully defend its Asian Games title.
Batting first, India posted a huge 216/3 in 20 overs, the highest women's cricket total in Asian Games history.
Smriti Mandhana led the batting effort with a brilliant 79 off 45 balls, including seven sixes and five fours. She was supported by Shafali Verma, who scored 48, while Richa Ghosh smashed an unbeaten 49 off 22 balls.
India then produced a dominant bowling performance, dismissing Sri Lanka for just 69 in 15.4 overs.
Deepti Sharma was India's leading bowler with 3/6, while Shafali Verma and Shreyanka Patil picked up two wickets each.
The 147-run victory gave India its first gold medal of the 2026 Asian Games and its second consecutive women's cricket gold at the Asian Games.
Smriti Mandhana Reaches 11,000 International Runs
Mandhana's innings had an additional milestone.
During her 79-run knock, she became the first woman cricketer to reach 11,000 international runs across formats.
Her performance became one of the defining moments of India's opening days at Aichi-Nagoya.
Men's Badminton Team Assures Another Medal
India's men's badminton team also delivered a major result on Day 3.
India defeated hosts Japan 3–0 in the quarterfinal.
Lakshya Sen defeated Kodai Naraoka 11–21, 21–5, 21–19, producing a comeback victory after trailing 13–19 in the deciding game.
In men's doubles, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty defeated Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi 21–18, 24–22.
Youngster Ayush Shetty then defeated Koki Watanabe 21–10, 21–19 to complete the 3–0 victory.
The result took India into the semifinals and assured the men's badminton team of at least a bronze medal. India will face China in the semifinal.
Roshibina Devi Assures Another Wushu Medal
India also secured another confirmed medal through Roshibina Devi in women's Sanda 60kg wushu.
Roshibina defeated Macao China's Chu Man Sin 5–0 in the quarterfinal.
The victory took her into the semifinals and guaranteed her at least a bronze medal.
This will be Roshibina's third consecutive Asian Games medal. She won bronze at Jakarta 2018 and silver at Hangzhou 2023.
Her semifinal will give her an opportunity to move into the gold-medal bout.
Men's Hockey Continues Its Winning Run
India's men's hockey team continued its impressive start to the Asian Games.
The defending champions defeated Sri Lanka 16–1, recording another big win in the pool stage.
India had already opened its campaign with a 13–1 victory over Indonesia, making it two high-scoring wins in its opening matches.
The team will continue its campaign with further pool matches as it looks to defend its Asian Games title.
Men's Kabaddi Team Beats South Korea
India's men's kabaddi team also registered its second consecutive victory.
The defending champions defeated South Korea 63–31 in their Group A match.
India led 34–14 at half-time and maintained control throughout the second half.
The team had previously defeated Japan 49–24 in its opening match and now sits at the top of Group A with two wins.
Table Tennis Produces Mixed Results
India's table tennis teams experienced mixed results on Day 3.
The women's team fought hard to defeat Thailand 3–2 in the Round of 16 and advanced to the quarterfinals.
Meanwhile, the men's team exited the competition after its Round of 16 campaign.
Shooting Misses Out on Additional Medals
India's shooting contingent was unable to add another medal to the tally on Day 3 despite strong qualification performances.
The mixed 10m air rifle team event was among the major medal opportunities, but India finished outside the podium positions.
After taking five shooting medals across the first two days, India's medal tally therefore remained unchanged from the previous day apart from the cricket gold.
India's Medal Tally After Day 3
| Rank | Country | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | 32 | 13 | 8 | 53 |
| 2 | Japan | 11 | 16 | 19 | 46 |
| 3 | South Korea | 6 | 4 | 17 | 27 |
| 4 | Kazakhstan | 6 | 1 | 5 | 12 |
| 5 | Thailand | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 6 | Hong Kong | 3 | 4 | 4 | 12 |
| 7 | Tajikistan | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 8 | India | 1 | 4 | 2 | 7 |
India finished Day 3 with 7 medals and moved to 8th position in the medal standings.
🇮🇳 India's Medal Count
Gold — 1
Women's Cricket Team
Silver — 4
Elavenil Valarivan — Women's 10m Air Rifle Individual
Women's 10m Air Rifle Team
Himanshu Dhillon — Men's 10m Air Rifle Individual
Men's 10m Air Rifle Team
Bronze — 2
Rudrankksh Patil — Men's 10m Air Rifle Individual
Suchika Tariyal — Women's Traditional MMA 60kg
Total — 7 medals
Medals Assured but Not Yet Added to the Tally
India also had two further medals guaranteed after Day 3:
Men's Badminton Team — at least bronze
Roshibina Devi — Women's Sanda 60kg Wushu, at least bronze
These medals will be added to the official tally only after the respective events are completed.
Day 3: India's Major Highlights
The third day produced several important moments for India:
India won its first gold medal of Aichi-Nagoya 2026.
Women's cricket successfully defended its Asian Games title.
Smriti Mandhana scored 79 and crossed 11,000 international runs.
Men's badminton defeated Japan 3–0 and assured a medal.
Roshibina Devi assured her third consecutive Asian Games medal.
Men's hockey defeated Sri Lanka 16–1.
Men's kabaddi defeated South Korea 63–31.
India ended the day with 1 gold, 4 silver and 2 bronze medals.
Looking Ahead
India enters the next stage of the Asian Games with seven medals already on the board and two more assured podium finishes.
The coming days will feature major medal opportunities across badminton, wushu, shooting, weightlifting, boxing and other disciplines.
With the women's cricket team already delivering India's first gold, attention now turns to the athletes and teams chasing the country's next medals at Aichi-Nagoya 2026.
India's gold medal account is open. The medal race continues.
Sportspredictor | Author: Anirudh Gaur
Sports Management & Operations
