AICHI-NAGOYA, JAPAN — India experienced a high-octane medal surge on Day 8 of the 2026 Asian Games, securing seven new podium finishes to push its overall tally to 37. However, despite a productive late-day charge dominated by track-and-field events and squash, India slipped from 10th to 12th place in the tournament's medal standings as it missed out on adding a gold medal.

The day's haul comprised four silver and three bronze medals, heavily anchored by a stellar performance from the athletics contingent, which accounted for five of those podium finishes.

Athletics Leads the Charge with Five Podiums

The track-and-field arena delivered some of the most compelling moments of the day. Parul Chaudhary put up a scintillating performance in the women’s 3000m steeplechase, breaking her personal best and shattering the national record with a timing of 9:08.67 to claim a brilliant bronze medal.

In the field events, Sarvesh Kushare and Ancy Sojan both came agonizingly close to gold before settling for silver. Sarvesh cleared 2.25 meters in the men's high jump on his second attempt, but finished second on countback behind Chinese Taipei's Chao Hsuan-Fu. Ancy Sojan secured silver in the women’s long jump with an effort of 6.53 meters, narrowly edged out by China's Huang Yingying, who leaped 6.55 meters on her final attempt.

Adding to the day's total, Harita Bhadra clinched bronze in a thrilling photo-finish for the women's 200m event, clocking 23.20 seconds to edge past Japan's Ido Abigeirufuka by a mere 0.01 seconds. Tejaswin Shankar rounded off the athletics collection with a hard-earned bronze in the grueling men’s decathlon, finishing with an improved total of 7,934 points after winning the final 1500m event.

Historic Silver Sweeps in Squash

India’s quest for a squash singles gold continued to face hurdles as both rising star Anahat Singh and Abhay Singh finished as runners-up in their respective finals.

Seventeen-year-old Anahat went down to Malaysia’s seasoned Sivasangari Subramaniam (4-11, 4-11, 7-11) in the women's singles final. Despite the loss, Anahat scripted history by becoming the first Indian woman ever to reach an Asian Games squash singles final, securing a landmark silver.

In the men's singles gold medal match, Abhay Singh fought bravely but fell in straight games (9-11, 5-11, 5-11) to Malaysia's top-seeded Ng Eain Yow, adding a second squash silver of the day for the country.

Boxing Campaign Receives a Major Boost

Away from the finals, India’s boxing contingent ensured that momentum would carry forward into upcoming days. Ankush Panghal, Parveen Hooda, and Narender Berwal all triumphed in their respective quarterfinal bouts to storm into the semifinals, assuring themselves of at least a bronze medal.

Standings Dilemma

With the conclusion of Sunday's events, India’s total count stands at 37 medals—comprising 4 gold, 16 silver, and 17 bronze. Even though the seven-medal addition displayed the depth of Indian athletes across multiple disciplines, the absence of yellow metals on Day 8 caused India to slide down to 12th in the table as competing nations aggressively padded their gold tallies.