Asian Games 2026 LIVE | India’s kabaddi queens strike gold, beat Iran in thrilling final; Anahat Singh makes squash final

India defeats fierce rivals Iran 37-34 to clinch the gold in womens kabbadi, marking India's third gold medal at the Games

Updated - September 26, 2026 12:19 pm IST

Anahat Singh, front, competes against Japan’s Satomi Watanabe during the women’s singles semifinal Squash match in the ongoing 20th Asian Games, in Nagoya, Japan on September 26, 2026 | Photo Credit: PTI

India extended their dominance at the Asian Games as the women’s kabaddi team clinched gold with a thrilling 37-34 win over Iran in the final, while 18-year-old squash star Anahat Singh staged a sensational comeback to defeat Japan’s Satomi Watanabe 3-2 in the women’s singles semifinal. After dropping the opening two games, Anahat won three straight to complete a remarkable turnaround and book her place in the final, with a gold medal at stake.Sawan Barwal delivered a stunning performance to win India a historic silver in the men’s marathon at the setting a new national record in the process.

Joshna Chinappa and Velavan Senthilkumar settled for the bronze medal in mixed doubles squash at the Asian Games on Saturday after suffering a heartbreaking semifinal defeat to Hong Kong’s Tang Ming Hong and Lee Ka Yi.

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Leading the charge will be Dhiraj Bommadevara, who arrives in Japan fresh from a landmark World Cup Final triumph in Saltillo last week, becoming the first Indian male recurve archer to win the season-ending title.

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The 25-year-old’s breakthrough comes after a strong run that also included his maiden World Cup gold in Antalya and the 2025 Asian Archery Championships title.

Abhay Singh has sealed a 3-0 win over Pakistan’s Muhammad Irfan in the men’s singles squash semifinal, clinching the final game 11-6.

The Indian had won the opening two games 11-3, 12-10 to complete a dominant straight-games victory and book his place in the gold-medal match.

India concluded their canoeing campaign at the Asian Games without a medal at the Miyoshi Lake, failing to match their bronze-medal performance from the Hangzhou edition.

India had won a bronze in the men’s canoe double 1000m at the Hangzhou Asian Games, with Arjun Singh and Sunil Singh finishing third. India’s campaign this time ended without a podium finish, with the paddlers competing across the kayak and canoe events.

Indian boxer Kapil Pokhariya delivered a superb performance to advance to the quarterfinals but it was curtains for compatriot Jadumani Singh at the Asian Games on Saturday (September 26).

Kapil, the boxer from Uttarakhand, registered a 5-0 win over Iran’s Sam Estaki in the men’s 90kg category to enter the last eight.

But Jadumani, competing in the men’s 55kg category, lost 0-3 to Philippines’ Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Carlo Paalam.

India’s 18-year-old squash prodigy Anahat Singh staged a stunning comeback to defeat Japan’s Satomi Watanabe 3-2 in the women’s singles semifinal at the Asian Games on Saturday (September 26, 2026). After losing the opening two games, Anahat fought back brilliantly to win the next three in a row and complete a remarkable turnaround. The victory sends Anahat into the final, where she will battle for the gold medal.

The Indian women’s kabaddi team holds a 22-16 lead over fierce rivals Iran at half-time in the Asian Games 2026 gold-medal clash. India made a strong start to the high-stakes final, building a six-point cushion as they look to finish their campaign with a third gold medal at the Games in Japan.

Indian table tennis players Manush Shah and Yashaswini Ghorpade suffered defeats in their respective men’s and women’s singles pre-quarterfinals to end their campaign at the Asian Games on Saturday (September 26).

Manush went down 0-4 (4-11, 4-11, 9-11, 10-12) to Chinese world No. 8 Lin Shidong, while Ghorpade lost 1-4 (5-11, 11-4, 4-11, 5-11) to Japan’s Miwa Harimoto in the women’s singles third round.

Indian paddlers thus finished their Asian Games campaign with one medal -- the mixed doubles bronze clinched by Manush and Diya Chitale on Friday (September 25).

ndia’s campaign in the men’s sabre and women’s foil team events ended at the quarterfinal stage after losses to Korea and Japan, respectively, at the Asian Games on Saturday (September 26).

The Indian men’s team comprising Gisho Nidhi Kumaresan Padma, Karan Singh and Lakshay Badser notched up a 45-27 win over the Philippines in the pre-quarterfinals at Aichi Sky Expo Hall F. However, they lost 25-45 to Korea in the last eight.