India added four medals to its tally at the Asian Games 2026 on September 21, with shooting producing three podium finishes and mixed martial arts delivering a historic bronze.
The Indian men’s shooting team of Rudrankksh Patil, Himanshu Dhillon and Parth Rakesh Mane won the silver medal in the men’s 10m air rifle team event. The Indian trio finished with a combined score of 1890.1 points, behind China, which won the gold medal with 1899.0 points. South Korea took the bronze with 1884.2 points.
The team medal was followed by another strong performance from Himanshu Dhillon and Rudrankksh Patil in the individual men’s 10m air rifle final. Dhillon won the silver medal, while Patil claimed bronze. China’s Sheng Lihao took the gold medal with a score of 254.2, while Dhillon finished with 252.4. Patil was eliminated after 22 shots with a score of 230.9.
The individual final produced a close contest between the Indian shooters and Sheng. Rudrankksh started strongly and led the field during the early stages of the competition. Himanshu remained in medal contention throughout the final and moved into second place after producing a strong 10.6.
Rudrankksh eventually finished third after a narrow margin separated the Indian shooters. He was eliminated with a score of 230.9, just 0.1 point behind Himanshu’s 231.0 at that stage. Himanshu then continued into the final two-man battle against Sheng for the gold medal.
Both shooters recorded strong final shots, but Sheng finished ahead to secure the gold. Himanshu therefore took silver, giving India another shooting medal on a highly productive day for the country’s shooting contingent.
India’s shooting medal count at the Asian Games also increased significantly with these results. The country had already won two silver medals in shooting on the opening day. Elavenil Valarivan won silver in the women’s 10m air rifle individual event after India had earlier taken silver in the women’s 10m air rifle team competition. The additional three medals on September 21 took India’s shooting haul to five medals.
The fourth medal of the day came from mixed martial arts, where Suchika Tariyal secured bronze in the women’s traditional 60kg category. Her result is significant because it is India’s first-ever Asian Games medal in mixed martial arts. The sport is making its Asian Games debut at the Aichi-Nagoya Games.
Suchika’s semifinal against Singapore’s Hui Hoon Teo ended in a draw. According to the MMA Sports Federation, the winner was determined by the athletes’ weights recorded during the morning weigh-in. Teo was around 700 grams lighter than Suchika and therefore advanced to the final.
As a result, Suchika had to settle for the bronze medal despite the drawn semifinal. The result was a difficult end to her campaign, but the medal gave India its first podium finish in MMA at the Asian Games.
The four medals won on September 21 took India’s overall Asian Games medal tally to six. According to the latest results, India had four silver medals and two bronze medals, with all five shooting medals accounting for the majority of the country’s haul.
India’s opening day at the Games had produced two silver medals, both from shooting. Elavenil Valarivan, Sonam Maskar and Vidarsa Vinod finished second in the women’s 10m air rifle team event, before Elavenil added another silver in the individual competition.
The performance of the Indian shooting team has therefore been one of the main highlights of the country’s campaign during the first two days. The men’s 10m air rifle team silver was followed quickly by the individual silver and bronze, giving India three additional medals from the same discipline on September 21.
Several other Indian athletes were also in action across different sports on Monday. India’s women’s table tennis team recorded a 3-0 win over Pakistan, while the men’s kabaddi team defeated Japan 49-24. The women’s hockey team also registered a 17-1 victory over Indonesia, according to reports from the day.
India also progressed in other competitions, including women’s cricket, where the team reached the final after defeating Bangladesh by 114 runs. The Indian team is scheduled to face Sri Lanka in the gold-medal match.
The medal results on September 21 have given India a strong start to the second day of competition. Shooting has once again emerged as a major source of medals, while Suchika Tariyal’s historic MMA bronze has added another sport to India’s medal list.
With the Asian Games continuing until October 4, Indian athletes will have several more opportunities to add to the medal tally. For now, India’s six medals comprise four silver and two bronze, with five medals coming from shooting and one from mixed martial arts.