India’s medal tally at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, has risen to two silver medals after a productive opening day.
Elavenil Valarivan was at the centre of both medal-winning performances. After helping India secure silver in the women’s 10m air rifle team event alongside Sonam Maskar and Vidarsa K Vinod, she added another silver in the individual final.
Elavenil doubles her silver haul
The Indian trio of Elavenil, Sonam and Vidarsa combined for 1898.0 points to win silver in the women’s 10m air rifle team event. China took gold with 1904.2 points, while hosts Japan won bronze with 1897.1.
Elavenil then went on to finish second in the individual 10m air rifle final, securing her second silver medal of the day. She finished with a score of 252.4, narrowly missing out on gold.
The team silver was India’s first medal of the Games, while Elavenil’s individual podium finish took the country’s medal count to two.
Suchika Tariyal assures another medal
India also secured another medal opportunity through Suchika Tariyal in women’s Traditional MMA.
Suchika reached the semi-finals of the women’s Traditional 60kg competition, assuring India of at least a bronze medal under the competition format.
Her result adds to India’s strong start across disciplines on the second day of competition.
Deepika Sehrawat stars in hockey
India’s women’s hockey team also made headlines with a 19-0 victory over Uzbekistan in their opening pool match.
Deepika Sehrawat scored eight goals, setting a tournament record for the most goals by a player in a single match at these Asian Games.
Cricket team faces Bangladesh
India’s women’s cricket team is also in action in the Asian Games semi-final against Bangladesh.
The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side entered the match after an eight-wicket quarter-final victory over Japan. The winner of the semi-final will be assured of at least a silver medal.
India are therefore competing for medals across several disciplines as the Aichi-Nagoya Games gather pace, with shooting already providing two silver medals on the opening day.
