How many more gold medals can India win at Asian Games 2026?
India will be confident of winning at least 3 gold medals on Saturday
After a slow start to their campaign at the Asian Games 2026, filled with so-close-yet-so-far moments and disappointments, the Indian contingent has burst to life towards the fag end of the continental event.
On Friday, India enjoyed its best day yet at the Aichi-Nagoya games, winning a historic six golds, finishing the day with 10 medals in total and jumping to fifth place in the medal tally.
The final day (October 3) brings more medal opportunities for India, with athletes in cricket, hockey, archery, wrestling, golf and taekwondo contesting for podium places in their respective events.
Related: Asian Games 2026 Day 14 Live Updates
India are already guaranteed at least silver medals in men’s cricket and hockey, with both teams set to play in the gold-medal match on Saturday. Both head into the final as the defending champions and gold medal favourites.
Here’s a plain look at how many more golds India can honestly expect from here.
Men’s Hockey
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Hockey represents India’s biggest prize at these Games, with the winners of both the men’s and women’s tournaments securing direct qualification for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. For a team, that is worth almost as much as the gold itself.
The Indian men’s hockey team will hope to replicate the women’s team’s success, who beat China to secure a gold medal.
Related: Asian Games 2026: India beat China to win first women’s hockey gold in 44 years, book LA28 berth
The Men in Blue have a story of their own: against Pakistan in the semi-final, they raced into a 3-0 lead, and the contest appeared all but over. Then Pakistan came back, goal by goal, and levelled in the 49th minute. With a shootout looming, Abhishek scored in the final minute to win it 4-3.
India survived, but a team that throws away a three-goal lead will have some uncomfortable conversations before the final. On Saturday, they will face Malaysia, and as the defending champions, they will be favourites in this clash.
Wrestling
Five Indian wrestlers will begin their campaigns on Saturday. In the men’s events, Sagar Jaglan will compete in the men’s freestyle 64kg and will face Mongolia’s Tomor-Ochiryn Tulga in the Round of 16.
Hangzhou 2022 silver medallist Deepak Punia will take part in the 97kg event and will begin his campaign against China’s Zhou Junpeng.
Olympic medallist and bronze medal winner in Hangzhou, Aman Sehrawat, has received a bye in the qualification round of men’s freestyle 57kg and will start directly in the pre-quarterfinals. He will face the winner of the Gulomjon Abdullaev vs Yamato Ogawa bout.
Antim Panghal will compete in the women’s 53kg event. Manisha Bhanwala will aim for gold in the 57kg event. The two female wrestlers will face Kazakhstan’s Shugyla Omirbek and South Korea’s Kwon Young-jin in their respective events’ Round of 16.
All three of Punia, Aman and Antim are among contenders, but can they overcome the final hurdle?
Men’s Cricket
Like in hockey, the Indian men’s cricket team will aim to replicate the success of their women’s counterparts and defend their gold in Japan.
India face Pakistan in the final on Saturday and will enter the contest as overwhelming favourites on paper. But if the semi-final showed anything, it was that an on-paper tag does not always translate to the field.
Sent to bat first by Sri Lanka, India succumbed to 24 for 2 before Ishan Kishan steadied things with an unbeaten 80, while 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi lit up the innings with 38 from just 21 balls, 36 of them in boundaries. India finished on 169 for 7.
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What followed was remarkable. Jasprit Bumrah removed two batters for ducks in the very first over, and Sri Lanka fell apart. They were all out for 45 in under 10 overs, the lowest total in their T20 international history, and India won by 124 runs.
Archery
India has already won gold in the compound events, and now the recurve individual events come into focus. On Saturday, Indian archers are in three semi-finals at Okazaki.
Dhiraj Bommadevara will face Uzbekistan’s Amirkhon Sadikov in the men’s semi-final. Neeraj Chauhan will take on Bhutan’s Lam Dorji. In the women’s individual event, Kumkum Mohod will take on Kang Chae-young of South Korea.
Given the form that she’s in, expect the 17-year-old Kumkum to cause an upset or two. Can she win gold? If she can overcome the reigning Olympic and world medallist, Chaeyoung Kang in the quarter-finals, there might be no stopping her.
So, how many more?
India still has roughly 10 gold-medal opportunities spread across four sports, although that is the ceiling rather than a forecast. A realistic estimate would be three to four gold medals on Saturday.
The men’s hockey team and the cricketers appear to have the strongest chances, while recurve archery could spring a surprise or two. After Sujeet Kalkal’s stunning performance yesterday, expect the Indian wrestlers to finish on a high.
Who will India face in the hockey and cricket finals at the Asian Games 2026?
The men’s hockey team will face Malaysia on Saturday. In cricket, India will play Pakistan for the gold medal.
How many more gold medals can India on the final day of Asian Games 2026?
India can realistically win 3-4 gold medals on Day 14 (Saturday) at the 2026 Asian Games.
Which sports will offer gold medal chances for India on Day 14 (October 3) at Asian Games 2026?
Cricket, hockey, archery, wrestling, golf and taekwondo are some of the sports that will offer medal chances on Saturday.
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