Top 5 sports with most gold medals for India at Asian Games history

Athletics has been the single biggest contributor to India’s medal tally.

Since 1951, India have featured in every edition of the Asian Games. The focus has been on improving with every edition, and India have steadily built a reputation as one of the competition’s strongest challengers.

In the 2022 edition, India recorded its best-ever medal tally, winning a record total of 28 gold medals. Across all editions so far, India’s gold medal tally stands at 183.

With the 2026 Games just around the corner, here are five disciplines where India have enjoyed sustained success and demonstrated remarkable consistency over the past few decades.

Sports with most gold medals for India at Asian Games

Tennis – 10 gold medals

Tennis may not be an obvious inclusion on this list, but India was once a dominant force in Asian tennis. Ramanathan Krishnan delivered the country its first tennis gold medal at the 1958 Asian Games, laying the foundation for a discipline that would produce several memorable campaigns.

However, much of India’s success goes to Leander Paes, widely regarded as one of the country’s most decorated athletes in Asian Games history. Paes won five gold medals between 1994 and 2006, establishing a remarkable record on the continental stage.

Somdev Devvarman added a couple more gold medals to India’s tally, while Rohan Bopanna and Rutuja Bhosale won the gold medal in the mixed doubles event at a recent competition.

Wrestling – 11 gold medals

Maruti Mane opened India’s wrestling account at the 1962 Games. Changdi Ram, Rajinder Singh, Kartar Singh and Satpal Singh brought success during the 1970s and 1980s, before India hit a rough patch in wrestling.

After 28 long years, India claimed a gold medal in the discipline thanks to Yogeshwar Dutt. Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat are India’s recent wrestling gold medalists.

Kabaddi – 11 gold medals

For nearly three decades, kabaddi gold felt almost automatic for India. The men’s team won every edition from the sport’s debut in Beijing 1990 to Incheon 2014, while the women’s event, introduced only in 2010, saw India sweep its first two editions as well.

That run ended at the 2018 Jakarta Games, when Iran knocked the men out in the semi-finals and then beat the two-time defending champion women’s team in the final. India answered that setback in style at Hangzhou, reclaiming both the men’s and women’s titles and lifting the all-time tally to 11.

Shooting – 16 gold medals

India has consistently performed well in shooting across multi-sport events. The 18-year-old Jaspal Rana clinched India’s first shooting gold medal at the 1994 Asian Games and repeated his heroics in Doha 2006, where he actually went on to win three gold medals in the same edition.

India won seven gold medals in athletics at the 2023 Asian Games and will hope to improve that tally when the Aichi-Nagoya edition concludes.

Athletics – 85 gold medals

Athletics leads the way by a considerable margin. Given the sheer number of events contested across the discipline, its top position in this list comes as little surprise.

However, what has indeed been impressive is India’s rapid rise in disciplines like the javelin throw, where the country now has multiple strong contenders.

The story began in Delhi in 1951, when Lavy Pinto swept both the 100m and 200m. Milkha Singh carried the momentum forward, winning four more gold medals.

P. T. Usha won four gold medals in a historic campaign in Seoul 1986, while Neeraj Chopra more recently secured his second straight gold medal in javelin at the 2022 Hangzhou Games.

Gold medals for Avinash Sable in the steeplechase and Tajinderpal Singh Toor in the shot put reassure the nation that India’s future in athletics is bright.

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