What is India's biggest single-day medal haul at the Asian Games?
It came at the Asian Games 2023
India will compete at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, which kicks off on September 19 and runs until October 4.
It’s a massive event this year, with 45 countries and regions battling it out across 43 sports. India has brought a strong squad, including five Olympic medal winners like PV Sindhu, Manu Bhaker, Lovlina Borgohain, Aman Sehrawat and Mirabai Chanu, all hoping to add to the country’s growing medal legacy.
The last time around, at Hangzhou in 2023, India walked away with a record 107 medals overall.
But with all eyes now on Japan, a lot of people have been asking about one particular record from that previous edition, and it’s still India’s best day ever at the Games.
What is India’s most medals in a single day at Asian Games?
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If you’re wondering what the biggest one-day medal count for India at the Asian Games looks – the answer is 15.
It happened on October 1, 2023, during the Hangzhou Games, and it’s a day Indian sports fans still talk about. The country picked up three gold, seven silver and five bronze medals in that single day, pushing its overall tally to 53 medals at that stage.
Things kicked off with golfer Aditi Ashok, who became the first Indian woman to win a medal in golf at the Asian Games. She actually had a seven-shot lead heading into the final round but couldn’t hold on, finishing with silver instead of gold.
Shooting had a big say in the day’s success too. Manisha Keer, Rajeshwari Kumari and Preeti Rajak took silver in the women’s trap team event, and right after that, Kynan Chenai, Zoravar Singh Sandhu and Prithviraj Tondaiman won gold in the men’s trap team competition. Chenai wasn’t done there either, he also picked up an individual bronze in trap, which took India’s total shooting medal count to 22 for the Games.
Athletics was where most of the action happened, though, with nine medals coming from track and field alone. Avinash Sable won gold in the men’s 3000m steeplechase, becoming the first Indian man to ever do that, while Tajinderpal Singh Toor successfully defended his Asian Games title in shot put. There were silvers too, from Murali Sreeshankar in the long jump, Ajay Kumar Saroj in the men’s 1500m and Harmilan Bains in the women’s 1500m. Jyothi Yarraji’s story is an interesting one, she originally finished with bronze in the women’s 100m hurdles, but it got upgraded to silver after the athlete who won gold was disqualified for a false start.
Boxer Nikhat Zareen, who was the reigning world champion at the time, lost in her semi-final and had to settle for bronze.
Agasara Nandhini won bronze in the heptathlon, Jinson Johnson picked up bronze in the 1500m, and 40-year-old Seema Punia added a bronze in the discus throw. To wrap up the day, the men’s badminton team won silver, their best-ever finish in the team event at the Asian Games.
Nothing has come close to matching that day since, and it still stands as the gold standard for what India can achieve in a single day at the Asian Games.
What is India’s highest medal count in a single day at the Asian Games?
India’s best single-day performance came on October 1, 2023, at the Hangzhou Asian Games, where the country won 15 medals in total, three gold, seven silver and five bronze.
Which sport contributed the most medals to India’s record day?
Athletics was the biggest contributor, with nine medals coming from track and field events alone, including golds from Avinash Sable and Tajinderpal Singh Toor.
Who was the first Indian woman to win an Asian Games medal in golf?
Aditi Ashok became the first Indian woman to win an Asian Games medal in golf, finishing with silver after leading by seven shots heading into the final round
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