India’s Asian Games Campaign Exposes Gaps Despite Historic Highs

India finished fourth at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games with 85 medals, comprising 21 gold, 27 silver and 37 bronze. While the country retained its fourth-place position from the previous edition, its medal tally fell from the 107 medals won at Hangzhou. China topped the standings with 341 medals, followed by Japan with 269 and South Korea with 150. The results highlighted the challenge of sustaining India’s recent progress on the Asian sporting stage.

India’s performance was marked by strong results in archery, wrestling, boxing, hockey, cricket and golf, while several established medal-producing disciplines did not meet expectations. Badminton and tennis struggled, with India failing to win a tennis medal, while shooting also saw a decline compared with Hangzhou. Neeraj Chopra’s absence due to injury was another setback. At the same time, historic breakthroughs and performances from athletes such as Vithya Ramraj and Gulveer Singh showed that India’s sporting base continues to expand.