2026 Asian Games: Top 5 Indian Athletes

As the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya moves towards conclusion, India has made a great comeback after a poor start to the campaign. The Archers, Trap shooters and the Boxers along with a few contributed majorly towards the end, bagging multiple medals to improve India’s medals tally and ranking. At such a big stage, all athletes try to give their best but a few stand out and produce a world class performance in the clutch moments. 

Here, we take a look at top five athletes who bagged multiple medals and brought great pride to the nation – 

5. Chikhita Taniparthi and Sahil Jadhav (Compound Archery) – 2 Golds

Compound Archery has been a great contributor for India as the Compound Archers from India are one of the most dominant in the world. The Compound Archery duo Chikhita Taniparthi and Sahi Jadhav produced incredible form to bag two Golds in the two team events they participated in. 

Chikhita Taniparthi competed in the Women’s Team event and brought home the Gold alongside Jyothi Surekha Vennam and Prithika Pradeep. She also won a Gold in the Mixed Team event alongside Sahil Jadhav. Sahil Jadhav also won the Gold in the Men’s Team event alongside Kushal Dalal and Ganesh Mani Ratnam Thirumuru. 

Both Archers missed out on Individual medals but by winning the Mixed Team Gold in a thrilling shootout against the mighty South Koreans, they also ensured qualification for the LA 2028 Olympics. 

4. Gulveer Singh (Athletics) – 2 Silvers, 1 Bronze

After his heroics at the recently concluded Commonwealth Games, Gulveer Singh was coming into this Asian Games with massive expectations and that too in a very tough field in the Men’s 1500m, 5000m and 10,000m events. 

Gulveer ran superbly to bag three medals in all individual events and was one of our superstars from the Athletics contingent alongside Vithya Ramraj. Singh won two Silver medals in the 1500m and the 10,000m and a bronze medal in the 5000m. 

The Army man is a specialist distance runner and was another athlete who was expected to bring the medals and Singh didn’t disappoint at all although he was a tad upset that he couldn’t bring home a Gold –  mentality of an elite athlete. 

3. Vithya Ramraj (Athletics) – 1 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze

Vithya Ramraj was one of our standout performers from the track and field category. Vithya participated in three events and medalled at all three, making crucial contributions especially in the relay events. 

Vithya helped the Mixed team in the 4 x 400m to a silver medal alongside Machettira Poovamma, Vishal Thennarasu and Thekkinanil Manu. She was also part of the 4 x 400 m women’s team to a Gold medal alongside Prachi Choudhary, Kiran Pahal and Machettira Poovamma. What was common to both these medals was that she ran  the crucial anchor leg in both the events. She also won an individual bronze medal in the 400 m hurdles, breaking P.T. Usha’s 42-year-old national record of 55.42 seconds, finishing the race in 54.75 seconds. 

Vithya was definitely one of our brightest medal prospects at the 2026 Asian Games and she has performed superbly to secure a podium finish in all three events, also helping India win its solitary Gold medal in the track and field category in this edition.  

2. Kumkum Anil Mohod (Archery) – 2 Golds, 1 Silver

Kumkum Mohod is proving to be an excellent young talent for India. The 17-year-old making her debut at the Asian Games had an incredible campaign with two Golds and a Silver medal.

Kumkum Mohod won three historic medals in Recurve Archery that has been dominated by the Koreans for a long time. She won a Gold in Women’s Team event alongside Ankita Bhagat and Kirti Sharma, a Silver in the mixed team event with Dhiraj Bommadevara and an incredible Individual Gold defeating the World No. 1 Oh Yejin in a thrilling shoot-off in the final. She became the first Indian woman to win a Gold medal in this category and also ensured a direct qualification for the LA 2028 Olympics. 

If she continues to perform consistently and doesn’t let the pressure of the event get to her, Kumkum Mohod could definitely bring India a historic Recurve Archery medal at the LA 2028 Olympics. 

1. Neeru Dhanda (Shooting) – 2 Golds, 1 Silver

Trap shooter Neeru Dhanda arrived at the Asian Games two days later than the rest of the shooting contingent as she had been hospitalised with illness and had missed the preparation camp as well. However, that didn’t deter Neeru one bit as she shot her way to three medals – an individual Gold, setting a games record with a score of 28/30, a women’s team silver alongside Ashima Ahalawat and Manisha Keer and  a mixed-team Gold alongside Kynan Chenai at the Asian Games. 

These were India’s first medals in trap shooting which hadn’t done so well in the past hence a historic achievement for Neeru Dhanda. She defied all setbacks and turned up to win three medals at the Asian Games and will end the campaign proudly as the flag-bearer for India,  leading the contingent on the closing day.