India climbs to top 10 in Asian Games medal standings after kabaddi gold sweep

India returned to the top 10 of the Asian Games medal standings on Saturday after a seven-medal haul, highlighted by two gold medals in kabaddi. The country’s gold rush in the sport, along with medals in athletics, shooting and squash, took the overall tally to 30 and moved India up to 10th place. India now have four gold, 12 silver and 14 bronze medals after seven days of competition in Aichi-Nagoya. The kabaddi teams provided the biggest boost to India’s medal count, with both the women and men successfully defending their Asian Games titles. The women defeated Iran in the final before the men followed suit later in the day, maintaining India’s remarkable dominance in the sport.

Seven medals, kabaddi gold double the highlight

India also collected medals across athletics and shooting. Sawan Barwal produced one of the standout performances of the day by winning a historic silver in the marathon, while Prachi Choudhary claimed bronze in the women’s 400m. Two-time defending champion Tajinderpal Singh Toor added another silver in the men’s shot put. Toor produced a season’s best 20.64m but could not complete a hat-trick of Asian Games gold medals after Iran’s Mohammadreza Tayebise won with a Games Record 20.81m.

At the shooting range, Tilottama Sen, Vidarsa Vinod and Ashi Chouksey combined to win silver in the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions team event. India also added a bronze in squash, with Joshna Chinappa and Velavan Senthilkumar losing 1-2 to Hong Kong’s Tang Ming Hong and Lee Ka Yi in the mixed doubles semifinal.

Anahat, Abhay keep gold hopes alive

India’s squash campaign received a major boost as Anahat Singh and Abhay Singh advanced to their respective singles finals. Both remain in contention for gold as well as qualification spots for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, where squash will make its debut.

The men’s hockey team also progressed to the semifinals after beating Japan 2-0 in their final pool match.

China stretches lead at the top

While India climbed back into the top 10, China continued to dominate the medal standings. The Asian giants have already crossed the 100-gold mark and lead the table with 107 gold, 41 silver and 28 bronze medals, taking their overall haul to 176. Hosts Japan remained second with 31 gold medals, followed by South Korea with 16 and Uzbekistan with eight. India’s seven-medal haul helped close out a productive Saturday and pushed the country back into the top 10, with the focus now shifting to converting more of the growing medal opportunities into gold.