President Murmu hails Indian athletes for exceptional 85-medal Asian Games 2026 campaign

New Delhi [India], October 5 (ANI): President Droupadi Murmu hailed Indian athletes for an exceptional Asian Games campaign, saying that the 'hard work, skill and perseverance of our athletes have brought great honour to the nation'. India signed off from the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya with a haul of 85 medals, including 21 golds, 27 silvers and 37 bronze medals, but it was the country's clean sweep of gold medals in cricket, kabaddi and hockey that provided the defining moments of a campaign which also produced record-breaking performances, first-time podium finishes and historic individual triumphs. Posting on X, Murmu wrote, 'The Asian Games 2026 have witnessed outstanding performances of our athletes. The nation is proud of every member of the Indian contingent who represented Bharat with dedication and commitment. Congratulations to all our medal winners, especially our women athletes for their impressive performances. The hard work, skill and perseverance of our athletes have brought great honour to the nation. My best wishes to all our sportspersons for continued success in their sporting journeys and for many more achievements.' https://x.com/rashtrapatibhvn/status/2106792184599167026 India finished fourth in the overall medal standings with 21 gold, 27 silver and 37 bronze medals. China dominated the Games with 341 medals, including 169 gold, while hosts Japan finished second with 269 medals, including 83 gold. South Korea were third with 150 medals, including 39 gold, according to Olympics.com. India's 85-medal haul was below the record 106 medals, including 28 gold, won at the Hangzhou Games in 2023, but the campaign featured several landmark achievements across disciplines. The biggest success came in the three team sports where India entered both men's and women's competitions -- cricket, kabaddi and hockey -- and returned with gold medals in all six events. In cricket, India completed a golden double after the women's team won the title before the men's side defeated arch-rivals Pakistan by 19 runs in the final. The men's team, powered by contributions from Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma and Axar Patel, added the gold to the women's team's emphatic 147-run victory over Sri Lanka in the women's final. Kabaddi produced another clean sweep. India's women defeated Iran 37-34 in a closely fought final to successfully defend their title, while the men's team came from behind to beat Iran 40-34. The men's gold was India's ninth in 10 editions since kabaddi became a men's team sport at the Asian Games in 1990. The only exception came in 2018, when India won bronze. The women's team, meanwhile, continued its dominance since the sport's introduction to the women's programme in 2010. Hockey completed India's clean sweep in the team sports. The women's team ended a 44-year wait for an Asian Games medal by defeating China 1-0 in the final, with Lalremsiami scoring the decisive goal in the 10th minute. The victory was India's first women's hockey gold at the Asian Games since 1982. The men's team followed with a 5-1 win over Malaysia in the final, successfully defending its Asian Games title. It was India's fifth men's hockey gold after victories in 1966, 1998, 2014 and 2022, and the first time the Indian men's and women's hockey teams won gold at the same edition. With these wins, India's men's and women's hockey teams qualified for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, booking their seats successfully. Archery was another standout discipline, with India collecting nine medals -- five gold, two silver and two bronze -- across the 10 events. Seventeen-year-old Kumkum Mohod emerged as the face of India's archery campaign. The Amravati teenager became the first Indian to win an individual recurve gold at the Asian Games after defeating South Korea's Oh Yejin in a shoot-off. With the final tied 5-5, Oh shot an eight in the shoot-off before Kumkum responded with a 10 to claim the title and an LA 2028 Olympic quota place for India. Kumkum also won gold in the women's recurve team event and silver in the mixed recurve team event alongside Dhiraj Bommadevara, ending the Games with three medals. India also secured medals in the men's individual recurve event, with Neeraj Chauhan winning bronze. Dhiraj had lost his semi-final to South Korea's Lee Wooseok, while Chauhan was beaten by Japan's Junya Nakanishi before the two Indians met in the bronze-medal contest. India's compound archers added three team gold medals and an individual bronze, with the women's individual event the only archery competition in which India failed to win a medal. The nine-medal haul matched India's record from Hangzhou and included medals across all five recurve events -- two gold, two silver and a bronze. Boxing delivered India's best Asian Games campaign in terms of gold medals, with three titles and three bronze medals. Lovlina Borgohain, Parveen Hooda and Ankush Panghal won gold, while Kapil Pokhariya, Narender Berwal and Priya Ghanghas secured bronze. Lovlina defeated China's Ziyi Bao 5-0 in the women's 75kg final on her 29th birthday. The Olympic bronze medallist upgraded her silver from Hangzhou and became only the second Indian woman after Mary Kom to win an Asian Games boxing gold. Parveen produced one of the biggest wins of India's campaign, defeating Paris 2024 Olympic bronze medallist and former world champion Chen Nien-Chin of Chinese Taipei 3-2 in the women's 65kg final. Ankush Panghal completed the gold-medal sweep with a 4-0 split-decision victory over South Korea's Kim Min-seong in the men's 80kg final. Wrestling also enjoyed one of its best campaigns in decades, with India winning six medals -- two gold, two silver and two bronze. Paris 2024 bronze medallist Aman Sehrawat won gold in the men's 57kg freestyle category after defeating reigning world champion Han Chong Song of North Korea 11-7. Sujeet Kalkal had earlier won the men's 65kg freestyle title, giving India two wrestling golds. Antim Panghal claimed silver in the women's 53kg category after losing 9-1 to Japan's Moe Kiyooka, while Nitesh Siwach won silver in Greco-Roman 97kg. Deepak Punia added bronze in men's freestyle 97kg, and Sunil Kumar won bronze in Greco-Roman 87kg. The six-medal haul was India's best wrestling tally at an Asian Games since Jakarta 1962. Shooting produced 15 medals -- three gold, eight silver and four bronze -- although the haul was below India's record 22-medal return from Hangzhou. Neeru Dhanda was the standout performer, winning two golds and a silver in the trap events. She became the first Indian woman to win an individual Asian Games gold in a shotgun event before partnering Kynan Chenai to mixed team trap gold. She had earlier helped Aashima Ahlawat and Manisha Keer win silver in the women's team event. Suruchi Singh and Kamaljeet won gold in the 10m air pistol mixed team event after setting an Asian record in the final. Elavenil Valarivan won two silver medals, while Rudrankksh Patil collected three medals across rifle events. Esha Singh added silver in the women's 25m pistol after a dramatic shoot-off against China's Xiao Jiaruixuan. Manu Bhaker, however, endured a disappointing campaign, returning without a medal from four opportunities. Athletics was India's largest medal-producing discipline, with 24 medals -- one gold, nine silver and 14 bronze. The women's 4x400m relay quartet of Kiran Pahal, Machettira Poovamma, Prachi Choudhary and Vithya Ramraj delivered India's only athletics gold, ending a title drought dating back to Hangzhou 2023 and restoring the country to the top of the podium in the event for the first time since Jakarta 2018. Vithya was among India's multiple medallists, adding mixed 4x400m relay silver and 400m hurdles bronze. Her 54.75-second run in the hurdles also broke PT Usha's long-standing national record from the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Gulveer Singh won two silver medals in the 10,000m and 1500m and a bronze in the 5000m. Sawan Barwal won men's marathon silver with a national record of 2:11:37, ending India's 44-year wait for a medal in the event. Parul Chaudhary lowered her own national record in the women's 3000m steeplechase while winning bronze. India also won its first Asian Games silver in men's high jump through Sarvesh Kushare, while Baranica Elangovan became the country's first Asian Games medallist in women's pole vault with bronze. Golf produced another historic moment through Pranavi Urs, who became the first Indian woman to win an individual Asian Games golf gold. The 23-year-old from Mysuru finished at 15-under 265, one stroke ahead of China's Yin Ruoning and Singapore's Shannon Tan. Pranavi also helped India win silver in the women's team event alongside Aditi Ashok and Diksha Dagar. India finished at 14-under 546, behind China. Squash produced five medals -- two silver and three bronze. Teenager Anahat Singh and Abhay Singh won silver in the women's and men's singles respectively, while Joshna Chinappa and Velavan Senthilkumar won mixed doubles bronze. India's men's and women's teams also took bronze. The men's team had entered as defending champions but lost to Malaysia in the semi-finals. Sailing delivered three medals, including India's first-ever Asian Games silver in the men's skiff. Manu Francis and Prince Kurisinkal Noble finished second, while Harshita Tomar and Shital Verma won women's skiff bronze. Nethra Kumanan ended India's 12-year wait for a medal in the women's dinghy by winning bronze. She improved on her fourth-place finish at Hangzhou. Weightlifting veteran Mirabai Chanu finally completed her Asian Games medal collection with silver in the women's 49kg category. She lifted 198kg, including 87kg in snatch and 111kg in clean and jerk, to secure her maiden Asiad medal. India also collected medals in a number of disciplines where podium finishes have traditionally been less frequent. Roshibina Devi won silver in women's 60kg sanda in wushu, while Suchika Tariya created history by winning India's maiden Asian Games MMA medal, a bronze in the women's traditional -60kg category. Jay Meena secured India's first Asian Games medal in soft tennis, taking bronze in the men's singles. In rowing, Satnam Singh and Salman Khan won bronze in men's double sculls. Kurash athlete Pincky Balhara won bronze in women's 78kg, adding a second Asian Games medal after her silver at Jakarta 2018. India also won bronze in the men's quadrant event in sepaktakraw. Badminton proved a relatively disappointing campaign, with India managing only one medal -- bronze in the men's team event. The men's team lost to China in the semi-finals, while the women's team exited in the quarter-finals against Japan. PV Sindhu reached the women's singles quarter-finals before losing to Olympic champion Chen Yufei, while Unnati Hooda also reached the last eight. Defending men's doubles champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty were eliminated in the opening round. Table tennis produced one historic bronze through Manush Shah and Diya Chitale in mixed doubles. The world No. 8 pair defeated Hong Kong China's higher-ranked combination in the quarter-finals before losing to China's Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha in the last four. It was India's fourth table tennis medal in Asian Games history. From Kumkum Mohod securing an LA 2028 quota and becoming India's first individual recurve Asian Games champion, to Neeru Dhanda's three-medal shooting haul, Lovlina's birthday gold, Pranavi Urs' historic golf title and the simultaneous hockey, cricket and kabaddi gold sweeps, India's campaign offered a mix of established dominance and new breakthroughs. (ANI)