India enjoyed a golden run at the 2026 Asian Games as its women’s 4x400m relay team and compound archers delivered major victories in Nagoya. The relay quartet of Kiran Pahal, M.R. Poovamma, Prachi Choudhary and Vithya Ramraj won athletics gold, while India’s compound archers swept all three team gold medals. The mixed team triumph also secured India a quota place for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
Relay team ends athletics gold wait
Kiran Pahal, M.R. Poovamma, Prachi Choudhary and Vithya Ramraj clocked 3:29.69 to win the women’s 4x400m relay gold. Bahrain finished second in 3:30.21, while China took bronze in 3:31.02.
India had to fight back after being behind early in the race. Poovamma and Prachi kept the team in contention before Vithya produced a strong final leg to bring India home ahead of Bahrain.
The victory gave India its first athletics gold of the 2026 Asian Games and continued the country’s long-standing record of winning at least one athletics gold at every Asian Games since 1998. It was also India’s sixth gold medal of the Games at that stage.
The triumph carried an added significance for the four runners, each of whom has taken a different route to the Asian Games podium. Kiran Pahal, Poovamma, Prachi and Vithya have spoken about the challenges they faced in their athletic journeys, making the relay victory a particularly personal achievement for the quartet.
Vithya also entered the relay final with momentum from the 400m hurdles. She had won bronze in that event after clocking 54.75 seconds, breaking P.T. Usha’s 42-year-old national record. The relay gold therefore added another medal to an already significant Games campaign.
Compound archers deliver three golds
India’s compound archery team then produced a remarkable sweep, winning the men’s, women’s and mixed team gold medals on the same day.
In the women’s compound team final, Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Chikitha Taniparthi and Prithika Pradeep defeated China 238-234. India’s score equalled the world and Asian record of 238, underlining the precision of the Indian trio throughout the contest.
The victory also allowed India to retain the women’s compound team title won at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games. The Indian team had earlier defeated South Korea 234-233 in the semifinal before producing another high-scoring performance in the final.
Jyothi, one of India’s most experienced compound archers, once again played a central role in the team’s success. Chikitha also featured prominently in the day’s other major victories.
India’s men’s compound team of Kushal Dalal, Sahil Jadhav and Ganesh Mani Ratnam Thirumuru followed with another narrow victory over China. The Indian trio won the final 238-237, retaining the men’s team title and adding another gold to India’s archery haul.
The victories showed the depth of India’s compound archery programme, with different combinations delivering under pressure across the day’s finals.
Mixed team books LA 2028 spot
The day’s most significant result came in the mixed compound team final, where Chikitha Taniparthi and Sahil Jadhav faced South Korea.
The contest remained level at 157-157 after the regulation rounds, forcing a shoot-off to decide the gold medal. India held its nerve to win the shoot-off 20-19 and claim the title.
The victory also secured India’s quota place for the mixed team compound archery event at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. Compound archery is set to make its Olympic debut at LA 2028, making the Asian Games result an important step towards India’s campaign for the next Summer Games.
Chikitha was part of the women’s compound team that won gold earlier before joining Sahil for the mixed team final. Sahil also added the mixed team gold to the men’s team title.
India builds momentum
The relay and archery victories added important gold medals to India’s Asian Games campaign while highlighting the country’s strength in both athletics and precision sports.
The women’s relay showed the importance of teamwork and a strong finish, while the compound archers combined consistency with composure in three closely contested finals. The women’s team matched a world record, the men’s team retained its title, and the mixed pair secured an Olympic quota.
With the Games continuing in Aichi-Nagoya, Indian athletes remain involved across several disciplines. But the relay gold and three compound archery titles have already provided some of the standout moments of India’s campaign, with four gold medals coming from two very different tests of speed, teamwork and precision.
