India enjoyed a busy and medal-filled day at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Wednesday, with Mirabai Chanu ending a long wait for an Asian Games medal and Jay Meena creating history in soft tennis.
Chanu won silver in the women’s 49kg weightlifting event, while Meena assured India of its first-ever Asian Games medal in soft tennis by reaching the men’s singles semi-finals. His run later ended with a bronze after a defeat to Japan’s Takuya Kurosaka.
The results added to an already strong campaign for the Indian contingent at the 2026 Asian Games, which are being held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, from September 19 to October 4.
For Chanu, the silver was particularly meaningful. The Olympic medallist had competed at previous Asian Games without finishing on the podium. This time, she made sure that wait was finally over.
The 32-year-old lifted a total of 198kg, combining an 87kg best in the snatch with 111kg in the clean and jerk. Her performance gave India its first Asian Games weightlifting medal since Karnam Malleswari won bronze in 1998.
Chanu began the competition cautiously, clearing 83kg, 85kg and 87kg in the snatch. She was third after the opening discipline. The clean and jerk then changed the picture as she successfully lifted 111kg to finish with the silver.
North Korea’s Ri Song Gum took gold with a total of 215kg, including an Asian Games record, while Chanu settled for silver.
The medal adds another major achievement to Chanu’s career. She already has an Olympic silver medal, three World Championship medals, including a gold, and several Commonwealth Games titles.
While Chanu’s medal was a long-awaited success, Meena’s achievement opened a completely new chapter for Indian sport.
The Madhya Pradesh player reached the soft tennis men’s singles semi-finals after defeating the Philippines’ Sherwin Nuguit in a seven-game quarter-final. Meena won 4-3 in a match that repeatedly swung in both players’ favour.
The Indian lost the opening game 0-4 but fought back to win the next. The contest remained close until Meena eventually sealed the decisive game 7-5. The victory guaranteed him a medal because all four semi-finalists receive podium finishes in the event.
Meena’s historic run continued into the semi-finals, where he faced Japan’s Takuya Kurosaka. The Japanese player won 4-2, ending Meena’s hopes of reaching the gold-medal match. Meena’s semi-final appearance nevertheless secured him a bronze medal — India’s first-ever Asian Games medal in soft tennis.
The result is notable because soft tennis has traditionally received far less attention in India than lawn tennis. The sport uses a softer rubber ball and different scoring and equipment, although it is played on a standard tennis-sized court. Soft tennis made its Asian Games debut in 1994.
Meena’s medal therefore gives the sport a new moment in the Indian sporting conversation. His performance also adds another discipline to India’s growing medal list at the Asian Games.
There was more action across the Indian contingent on Wednesday.
Two-time Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker progressed to the women’s 10m air pistol individual final after a strong qualification performance. However, fellow Indians Suruchi Inder Singh and Esha Singh could not make the medal round.
India also made progress in rowing and canoe sprint. Balraj Panwar qualified for the men’s single sculls Final A after finishing third in his heat in 6:52.84. The men’s double sculls combination of Satnam Singh and Salman Khan also reached Final A after finishing second in their heat with a time of 6:15.63.
In canoe sprint, India’s men’s kayak four team of Harshwardhan Shaktawat, Varinder Singh, L Naocha Singh Oinam and Arun Singh made the 500m final. Megha Pradeep moved into the women’s canoe single 200m semi-finals, while Parvathy Geetha and Phairembam Soniya Devi advanced in the women’s kayak double 500m event.
Table tennis also produced progress, with Harmeet Desai and Yashaswini Ghorpade moving ahead in mixed doubles. Manush Shah and Diya Chitale also advanced after winning their respective second-round match.
The women’s hockey team added another big result, defeating Thailand 20-1. Deepika Sehrawat scored nine goals as India continued its strong start in the competition.
India’s medal tally also received a boost during the day’s competition. The country’s haul stood at one gold, five silver and six bronze medals in the latest available tally, putting the Indian contingent among the leading Asian teams.
The gold came from the Indian women’s cricket team, which won the country’s first gold medal of the 2026 Asian Games. India’s shooting and other teams have also contributed to the medal count during the opening days.
The Aichi-Nagoya Games still have plenty of competition left, with athletics, boxing, shooting, wrestling, badminton, hockey and several other sports continuing over the coming days.
Wednesday, however, belonged to two very different stories. Chanu finally added an Asian Games medal to an already decorated career, while Meena took Indian soft tennis into unfamiliar territory.
One was a long-awaited breakthrough. The other was a first.
Together, they showed the range of India’s campaign at the 2026 Asian Games — from established champions returning to the podium to athletes creating history in sports where India had never won a medal before.
