Asian Games 2026: Shooters Open India's Account With Silver; Hockey Team Win 19-0
Nagoya: India opened their shooting campaign at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games with a silver medal in the women's 10m air rifle team event on Sunday, September 20, 2026.
Elavenil Valarivan, Sonam Maskar and Vidarsa Vinod combined for a total of 1898.0 points to finish second behind China, who topped the standings with a world-record score of 1904.2. The silver is India's first confirmed medal of the 20th Asian Games. Team medals in this event are decided on the combined scores of the three shooters, with individual finals to follow.
Valarivan, an Olympian, is the most experienced member of the trio. Shooting has long been one of India's strongest disciplines at the Asian Games, and the opening result gives the contingent an early foothold on the medal table.
In hockey, the Indian women's team began their Pool B campaign with a 19-0 win over Uzbekistan, with Deepika scoring eight goals. India will meet tougher opposition as the group stage progresses.
In the women's Traditional Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) 60kg event, Suchika Tariyal defeated Mongolia's Altanchimeg Baigalmaa 2-0 to reach the semifinals, a result that assures her of at least a bronze medal.
India's women's table tennis team also opened with a 3-0 win over Indonesia in their first Group F fixture, played in Toyota.
The 20th Asian Games formally opened in Nagoya on Saturday, September 19, and will run until October 4. Around 11,000 athletes from 45 nations are competing in 43 sports and 71 sub-events, with 469 gold medals on offer. Competition in basketball, football, cricket and several other disciplines began before the opening ceremony.
India enter the Games aiming to build on their record-breaking performance at Hangzhou 2023, where they won 107 medals, including 28 gold. The contingent will seek to defend its titles in men's and women's cricket and men's and women's kabaddi, while the men's hockey team starts as the reigning champion.
With the shooting silver already in hand and further medal prospects opening up in MMA and team events, India's fortnight in Aichi and Nagoya will be measured against that Hangzhou benchmark.
(With agency inputs)
