Asian Games 2026: Top 10 medal prospects for India in Aichi-Nagoya

Members of the Indian delegation arrive during the official welcome and flag-hoisting ceremony at the 2026 Asian Games. | Photo Credit: PTI

India’s medal hopes at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games will be spread across several disciplines, with shooting, athletics and archery once again expected to make significant contributions.

Indian athletes will also look to defend their titles in various events, like badminton and kabaddi. Here are 10 of India’s strongest medal prospects at the continental event.

1. Esha Singh, shooting

Esha Singh won successive women’s 25m pistol World Cup titles in Munich and Hangzhou in 2026. | Photo Credit: PTI

Esha’s 2026 form has been exceptional. The 21-year-old announced herself as a serious contender by winning the 25m sports pistol event at the ISSF World Cup in Munich in May with a world-record 43/50 in the final.

 She followed that up with another gold in the same discipline at the Hangzhou World Cup in July, beating China’s Zhang Yueyue 40-37 in the final.

 The back-to-back World Cup victories underline her big-stage temperament. Esha also has valuable Asian Games experience, having won four medals at Hangzhou 2023, including team gold in the 25m pistol.

2. Suruchi Singh, shooting

Suruchi Singh won the women’s 10m air pistol gold at the Munich World Cup with a score of 242.1. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Suruchi’s strongest quality is her ability to deliver in major finals. She won the 2026 ISSF World Cup gold in Munich with a score of 242.1, beating compatriot Esha Singh by 0.9 points in an Indian one-two.

 The victory added another chapter to a remarkable trajectory. Suruchi dominated the 2025 World Cup circuit with a hat-trick of individual 10m air pistol gold medals in Munich, Lima and Buenos Aires before capping the season with World Cup Final gold and a junior world record in Doha.

 The former World No. 1 has repeatedly shown that she can produce big scores when a medal is at stake. At just 20, she combines remarkable consistency with a growing record of winning, making her one of India’s clearest individual gold prospects in Aichi-Nagoya. 

3. Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, Niraj Kumar and Rudrankksh Patil, shooting

Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar (In Pic), Niraj Kumar and Rudrankksh Patil form India’s men’s 50m rifle-3 positions team at the Games. | Photo Credit: MOORTHY RV

This team presents a compelling case for gold.

Aishwary is the spearhead, having won the Asian Championships title in February with a world-record score of 362.0, establishing himself as one of the leading 3P shooters globally. He is not new to the Asiad either, having already won four medals, including the 3P team gold, at Hangzhou 2023. 

Rudrankksh, a former world champion in 10m air rifle, has added the more gruelling 50m rifle 3 positions format to his repertoire since his heartbreaking exclusion from the Paris Olympics. He has since established himself as a serious competitor in the event. At February’s home Asian Championships, Rudrankksh shot a brilliant 591 to finish second in 3P qualification. He, however, did not make the final since he was competing for ranking points only (RPO).

Niraj brings consistency and experience to an exceptionally deep line-up. He won the 50m rifle 3-position gold at the 38th National Games in 2025, finishing ahead of Aishwary and Olympic bronze medallist Swapnil Kusale. He has also been part of India’s bronze-winning 3P team at the 2022 World Championships. More recently, he helped India win team silver alongside Aishwary and Akhil Sheoran at the 2026 Asian Championships. 

4. Dhiraj Bommadevara, archery

Dhiraj Bommadevara became the first Indian male recurve archer to win the World Cup Final title ahead of the Asian Games. | Photo Credit: RITU RAJ KONWAR

Dhiraj enters this edition of the Asian Games as the world's highest-ranked Asian recurve archer, ranked No. 10 globally and No. 1 in Asia. 

That ranking has been built on a string of performances stretching back to the Asian Championships in late 2025, where he beat compatriot Rahul in the final to clinch his maiden Asian gold. 

The result came with an asterisk, though, as the field was missing some of the usual heavyweight names. There was no such caveat at World Cup Stage 3 in Antalya, where Dhiraj impressed en route to individual gold. 

In the final, Dhiraj beat South Korea’s Lee Woo Seok 7-3. Lee, ranked No. 4 in Asia, is part of the Korean trio set to compete at the Asiad, alongside Kim Je Deok and Kim Woojin, the triple gold medallist at the Paris Olympics. 

Both Kim and Dhiraj went toe-to-toe in the qualification round at World Cup Stage 4 in Madrid, with the Korean taking top spot with 695, just four points ahead of Dhiraj. Neither, however, went on to medal. Kim crashed out in the third round, while Dhiraj bowed out in the quarterfinals. 

Kim is likely to be the biggest obstacle in Dhiraj’s quest for a maiden Asian Games gold. The South Korean holds the clear advantage in experience and reputation, but Dhiraj can draw confidence from their previous meetings, not least his 6-2 win over Kim at the World Cup Final in 2023. 

5. Jyothi Surekha Vennam, archery

Jyothi Surekha won three compound archery gold medals at the Hangzhou Asian Games. | Photo Credit: Anirudh V

Jyothi, who hails from Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh, is India’s most decorated compound archer. 

The 30-year-old has already won five medals, including three golds, at the Asian Games. In Aichi-Nagoya, she will have the added responsibility of guiding a young team, and she has already shown that leadership quality. 

At World Cup Stage 4 in Madrid, the trio of Jyothi, Prithika, and Chikitha clinched the women’s team silver. During that run, the Indians stunned South Korea in the semifinals. 

With compound archery finally set to make its Olympic debut with the mixed team event at Los Angeles 2028, Jyothi will also look to form a strong pair with one of the three men and aim for gold in Aichi-Nagoya.

6. Preeti Pawar, boxing

Preeti Pawar won the women’s 54kg titles at the Asian Championships and Commonwealth Games in 2026. | Photo Credit: PTI

Preeti Pawar arrives at the Asian Games with perhaps the strongest claim of any Indian boxer to gold. The 22-year-old Olympian from Paris has enjoyed an impressive run of form over the last year that has established her as one of the top contenders in the women’s 54kg category. She won gold at the World Boxing Cup in New Delhi in November last year and maintained her momentum this season, winning gold at both the Asian Championships and Commonwealth Games. 

Her Asian Championship triumph in Ulaanbaatar was particularly significant. Pawar defeated Olympic bronze medallist Im Ae-ji in the semifinals before securing a unanimous 5-0 victory over three-time world champion and Olympic bronze medallist Huang Hsiao-wen of Chinese Taipei in the final. It was a statement victory against one of Asia’s most accomplished boxers and confirmed that Pawar’s game has developed considerably since she won bronze at the 2022 Asian Games. 

That gold was followed by Pawar’s first gold medal at a multi-sport Games - the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Although the field wasn’t nearly as strong as the one she overcame in Ulaanbaatar, the victory will only boost her confidence ahead of the Games in Nagoya. 

7. M. Sreeshankar, athletics

M. Sreeshankar recorded an Asia-leading 8.38m in 2026 after winning long jump silver at Hangzhou 2023. | Photo Credit: BISWARANJAN ROUT

Murali Sreeshankar enters Aichi-Nagoya as a hot favourite in men’s long jump. He lost the Hangzhou title by three centimetres, taking silver with 8.19m, and has returned from knee surgery at a level capable of reversing that result.

His 8.38m victory at the National Inter-State Championships leads Asia this season and is the second-best jump of his career. He then took Commonwealth Games silver with 8.09m, confirming that the domestic breakthrough was not an isolated performance.

China’s Yuan Chenlong has reached 8.33m in 2026, while Japan has selected Yuki Hashioka, an 8.36m performer whose season’s best is 8.22m, and Riku Ito. Shi Yuhao, China’s other entrant, has jumped 8.14m, while India’s Shahnavaz Khan adds another serious medal threat at 8.30m. The decisive issue is board accuracy. A legal opening jump beyond 8.20m should place Sreeshankar immediately and firmly in control of a field in which he owns the strongest recent performance. 

8. Tajinderpal Singh Toor, athletics

Tajinderpal Singh Toor won the men’s shot put gold at Jakarta 2018 and Hangzhou 2023. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

Tajinderpal Singh Toor arrives at Aichi-Nagoya with a chance to become the first Indian shot putter to win three successive Asian Games titles. Champion at Jakarta and Hangzhou, he has found 21-metre form, recording 21.03m this season, his best throw in two years.

That mark places him ahead of China’s Xing Jialiang, who reached 20.95m, and Iran’s Mohammad Reza Tayebi, whose national record stands at 20.75m. Saudi Arabia’s Asian record-holder Mohammed Tolu, the Hangzhou silver medallist, remains the principal threat.

Toor’s fifth-place finish at the Commonwealth Games came with 20.27m despite a Grade-1 tear, underlining the competitive level he can maintain below full fitness.

His strength lies not only in distance but in championship temperament: at Hangzhou, he recovered from two opening fouls and produced the winning 20.36m in the final round. If he settles early near 20.50m, his 21-metre capacity and experience make him a leading gold-medal contender.

9. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, badminton

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty won India’s first Asian Games badminton gold at Hangzhou 2023. | Photo Credit: Badminton Photo

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, who hails from Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra’s Chirag Shetty are the reigning Asian Games champions in the men’s doubles competition. The duo has a strong chance of making it back-to-back gold medals. 

Ranked fifth in the world, they have produced some solid results this year despite frequent injuries. They reached the final at the Thailand Open and won the title at the Singapore Open. In the semifinals in Singapore, the pair recorded its maiden win over Korean World No. 1 Kim Won Ho and Seo Seung Jae. 

Their tall stature — both have a height of six feet and above — and powerful jump-smashes make them an intimidating presence on the court. 

Apart from managing their fitness issues, Satwik and Chirag’s biggest task at the Asian Games will be to make it past old rivals Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang if there is a possible clash. The newly crowned world champions have beaten the Indians twice this season, but Satwik and Chirag have shown in the past that Liang and Wang are not invincible.

10. Indian men’s and women’s kabaddi teams

India’s men’s and women’s kabaddi teams won gold at Hangzhou 2023 and enter this edition as defending champions. | Photo Credit: ANI

Both the Indian men and women enter the 2026 edition as the defending champions. Previously, in Hangzhou, China, the men’s team had beaten Iran 33-29, while the women’s side edged Chinese Taipei 26-25 to clinch gold. These teams are also the most successful ones in the history of the Asiad. India boasts of eight gold medals in the men’s event and three in the women’s event. 

Only once, in 2018, have the sides missed out on gold. In Jakarta-Palembang, Indonesia, both were denied by Iran, with the men taking bronze after a semifinal defeat and the women settling for silver after losing the final. 

Iran, the second-most successful nation with a gold each in the men’s and women’s events, will be among India’s main challengers in Aichi-Nagoya.