Asian Games Day 11 Highlights: Women’s 4x400m relay gold highlights India’s athletics medal rush

The Indian track cycling teams bowed out of the medal races in the men's and women's team sprint events and women's team pursuit competition at the Asian Games here on Tuesday. In the women's team sprint, the quartet of Celestina, Sarita Kumari, Keerthi Rangaswamy and Triyasha Paul clocked 50.431 seconds in the first-round heat. Chinese Taipei finished ahead in 49.504 seconds to move into the medal race for the bronze.

In the men's team sprint, India's Rojit Singh, David Beckham, Ronaldo Singh and Jemsh Singh clocked 44.374 seconds in their first-round heat. China won the heat in 42.348 seconds and moved into the gold medal race against Japan.

India also failed to progress to the medal races in the women's team pursuit. Harshita Jakhar, Pooja Danole, Meenakshi and Swosti Singh finished fifth and last in qualifying with a time of 4:45.151s and competed alone against the clock in the first round. China and Japan advanced to the gold medal race, while Uzbekistan and Korea will square off in the bronze medal race. India will therefore have no representation in the medal races of the three track cycling events.

(Via Press Trust of India)

In 2018, Neeru Dhanda witnessed the celebrations and the grand welcome Lakshay Sheoran got for winning the men’s trap silver at Jakarta Asian Games. She used to be a kabaddi player back then.

A year later, Neeru started shooting with support from Lakshay and his father. She trained with Lakshay’s guns. On Tuesday, Neeru won the Asian Games gold medal in women’s trap and a silver in the team event.

Read Nitin Sharma's piece

With rain disrupting play on Monday, the singles matches have been shifted to indoor courts today, like the doubles fixtures yesterday. Sumit Nagal and Dhakshineswar Suresh notch up straight-set wins to advance to the third round. Nagal will next face Uzbekistan's Sergey Fomin and DK will take on Chinese Taipei's Chun-hsin Tseng.

from Bhuvan Gupta

A quick glance at the medal won by the athletics contingent. today's the final day of the athletics program at the Asian Games and we have nine finals where Indian athletes or teams are competing for medals!

Vishal T.K., M.R. Poovamma, Manu T.S. and Vithya Ramraj — Mixed 4x400m relay – Silver

Gulveer Singh — Men’s 10,000m – Silver

Sawan Barwal – Men’s Marathon – Silver (He ended India’s 44-year wait for a medal in the event — and became the first Indian to win one outside home soil)

Tajinderpal Singh Toor – Men’s Shot Put – Silver

Sarvesh Kushare- Men’s high jump-Silver

Gulveer Singh- Men’s 1500m-Silver

Ancy Sojan- Women’s long jump- Silver

Yashvir Singh — Javelin — Silver

Rohit Yadav — Javelin — Bronze

Prachi — Women’s 400m — Bronze

Harita Bhadra — Women’s 200m — Bronze (This was India's first medal at the Asian Games in eight years)

Tejaswin Shankar — Men’s decathlon — Bronze

Parul Chaudhary — Women’s 3000m steeplechase — Bronze

Baranica Elangovan — Women’s Pole Vault – Bronze (became the first Indian to win an Asian Games medal in the women's pole vault event)

Vithya Ramraj — Women’s 400m hurdles — Bronze (Beat PT Usha’s four-decade-old record in 400m hurdles that was standing since 1984)

Parul Chaudhary — Women’s 5000m — Bronze

Seema Kumari — Women’s 10000m — Bronze

Manpreet Kaur — Women’s Shot Put – Bronze

Meanwhile, in the men's trap shooting event, Shapath Bharadwaj ends in eighth spot in what's a rain-drenched day in Nagoya. it was these same conditions that Neeru Dhanda negotiated to claim a gold medal in the individual event besides winning a silver with the team of Manisha Keer and Aashima Ahlawat.

Narender Berwal (who won a bronze medal in the men's 90+kg weight class, was born on November 14, 1994 in Sorkhi village, Hisar district, Haryana, India, has established himself as one of India’s leading super heavyweight boxers through perseverance, discipline, and exceptional power inside the ring. Born into a farming family, Narender discovered his passion for boxing at a young age and honed his skills under renowned coach Devraj Sihag before joining the Indian Army, where he continued to develop into an elite international boxer. Competing in the 92+ kg category, he has consistently represented India at the highest level, earning medals at prestigious international competitions, including the Asian Games and the Asian Boxing Championships. Narender first gained international recognition with a silver medal at the Youth World Cup and a bronze medal at the Youth Asian Championships before winning gold medals at the South Asian Games and multiple Senior National Boxing Championships. His bronze medal at the 2023 Asian Games marked a historic achievement for Indian heavyweight boxing, and he further strengthened his international credentials by winning the silver medal at the 2026 World Boxing Cup Finals and the bronze medal at the 2026 Asian Boxing Championships. Renowned for his powerful punching ability, resilience, and composure under pressure, Narender continues to play a pivotal role in India’s heavyweight boxing programme and remains one of the country’s strongest medal contenders at major international championships.

Achievements

● 2026 CWG- Silver

● 2022 Asian Games- Bronze

● 2026,2022 Asian Boxing Championship- Bronze

● 2025 World Boxing Cup, Kazakhstan- Bronze

● 2025 World Box Cup, Final- Silver

Neeru Dhanda (who won a gold medal in individual trap event and a silver in the team trap event) is an Indian shotgun shooter specializing in the Trap Women event. She has emerged as one of India's leading trap shooters through consistent performances at the international level. Neeru represented India at the 2022 ISSF World Championship in Osijek and has since established herself as a regular finalist on the ISSF circuit. She won her maiden Asian Championship gold medal in the Women's Trap event, becoming one of India's top performers in shotgun shooting. In 2026, Neeru created history by becoming the first Indian woman to win an individual ISSF World Cup gold medal in Women's Trap at the ISSF Shotgun World Cup in Lonato, Italy. She also secured a bronze medal in the Trap Mixed Team event at the ISSF World Cup in Almaty, Kazakhstan. As per the latest ISSF rankings, she is ranked among the world's leading women's trap shooters.

Last individual gold in the trap event was back in 1978 when Randhir Singh, who later became President of the Olympic Council of Asia, won the gold medal in men's trap in Bangkok.

Sadly, the legendary administrator passed away earlier this year.

Neeru has a lead of two shots against the Chinese. Neeru shoots her first target with the Chinese too hitting. Four shots to go and Neeru has a lead of 2 shots. Neeru shoots her second target with the Chinese too hitting. with three shots remaining, Neeru has a lead of 2 shots. Neeru shots the third target and Chinese too hits. Two shots remaining and Neeru has two shot lead

Neeru has a lead of two shots against the Chinese. Neeru shoots her first target with the Chinese too hitting. Four shots to go and Neeru has a lead of 2 shots.

meanwhile, the rain's making things complicated for the shooters, especially in terms of visibility

Nitin Sharma writes: Neeru has shot a series of 5 and is certain of medal. She has only missed one shot in her 20 shots.

Pritish Raj writes: Neeru Dhanda has been impeccable in her shooting. Her gold medal at Shotgun World Cup in Lonato was historic and now she is on course of another history

It’s raining during the women’s trap final. Neeru is placed third with a score of nine. Kazakh and Chinese Taipei shooters are eliminated at the seventh and eighth spot. The next shot five shot series will see two more shooters being eliminated from the final. It will be followed by the single series elimination till the gold medal.

An Se-young: "Are you guys trying to kill me with the schedule?"

While the Korean Oppas' run came to an end in mens singles and doubles Seo-Kim have been felled by the Tumble Serves, their greatest singles player An Se-young will line up for the finals with Akane Yamaguchi.

But before that, she raised her voice against the maniac schedule imposed on badminton players. Over the weekend, she told Korean media, "Yesterday (Saturday), I played two matches in a row, and it was incredibly exhausting. My opponent was also fatigued, which is why I was able to win the match. Intanon's age is more than me, so for her, playing two matches must have required tremendous determination. I'm younger than her, so I just tried to stay focused."

She also said she was chatting with (Kim) Ga-eun whom she told, ‘Making athletes compete twice a day? Do they want us to die?’ I vented to unnie (didi). There are disappointing things about this competition's organization.”

Indian boxer Parveen Hooda leads 3-0 after all five judges gave her 10-9 in the second round against China’s Li Chu in the 65kg semi-final

After a stretch of about an hour where not too many Indians were in action at the Asian Games, three Indian boxers will be walking out to the boxing ring shortly for their semi-final bouts.

After India won two medals in the men's javelin throw event on Monday evening, despite the absence of Neeraj Chopra (a two-time Olympic medallist and a two-time World Championships medallist), here's a look the Neeraj Chopra effect on India's javelin throwing scene.

As Nihal Koshie and Mihir Vasavda reported in January this year, From 2019 to 2024, the women’s participation in junior national javelin championships skyrocketed from 31 to 137, a staggering 125% spike. In men’s junior nationals in javelin, there was a 90% increase — from 39 in 2019 to 143 five years later. In these five years, the numbers in shotput — where India hasn’t won anything of note — fell from 54 to 38 in junior men and 62 to 39 in junior women.

Read more on the Neeraj Chopra-inspired ‘jave-lution’

In the men’s trap team standings, the Indian team of Sheath Bhardwaj, Kynan Chenai and Ahvar Rizvi finished sixth in the standings. Kuwait, Qatar and Kazakhstan won the gold, silver and bronze respectively.

Aashima Ahlawat (who won a team silver medal in trap shooting today) is an Indian trap shooter specializing in the Trap Women and Trap Mixed Team events. She has emerged as one of India's promising shotgun shooters, consistently representing the country at ISSF World Championships, ISSF World Cups and Asian Championships. According to the ISSF athlete database, Aashima has steadily progressed through the junior ranks to the senior circuit, achieving a career-best 4th place in the Trap Women Junior event at the 2024 ISSF World Championship in Lima and breaking into the world's top 30 in the women's trap rankings. Aashima earned her first ISSF-recognized international medal at the 2025 Asian Championships in Shymkent, Kazakhstan, where she won the bronze medal in the Trap Women event. She has also recorded several notable international performances, including a top-10 finish at the 2025 ISSF World Cup in Lonato and qualification for the final at the 2023 Asian Junior Championships. Aashima continues to be an important member of India's women's trap squad on the international stage.

Aashima's achievements

Manisha Keer (who won a team silver medal in trap shooting today) is an Indian trap shooter from Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, specializing in the Trap Women event. She began shooting in 2013 after being selected for training at the Madhya Pradesh State Shooting Academy and has since developed into one of India's leading shotgun shooters. Trained by Olympian Mansher Singh, Manisha has represented India at the ISSF World Championships, ISSF World Cups, and major continental competitions. According to the ISSF athlete database, she competes in Trap Women, Trap Mixed Team, and Trap Team events. Manisha gained international recognition in 2018 when she won the silver medal in the Trap Women Junior event at the ISSF World Championships in Changwon, South Korea, equalling the junior world qualification record before finishing second in the final. The achievement made her the first Indian woman to win an ISSF World Championship medal in a shotgun event. Since then, she has continued to represent India successfully, winning gold in the Women's Trap Team event and silver in the Women's Trap Team event at the ISSF World Cup, along with a bronze medal at the ISSF Junior World Cup and a bronze medal at the Asian Championships, as recorded by the ISSF.

Manisha's achievements

Indian women's trap team of Neeru Dhanda, Manisha Keer and Aashima Ahlawat has won silver medal in the team event.

The India team shot 328, fending off the challenge of Kuwait for the silver.

In the other pre-quarter-final clash in recurve archery involving an Indian, Dhiraj Bommadevara has taken down Chinese Taipei's Cheng Hsiang-Hui with a 6-2 scoreline. He will face the Uzbek archer Amirkhan Sadikov in the quarter-finals.

What a day for India in the archery ranges! Recurve archer Neeraj Chauhan has defeated a Republic of Korea's Kim Je Deok to enter the quarter-finals! At 22, Kim Je Deok is a three-time gold medallist at the Olympics between Tokyo 2021 and Paris 2024. Of course his medals have come in the team and mixed events rather than individual. But given Korea's heft in archery, even making it to the Korean team is a massive statement of calibre of an archer.

And now, Neeraj Chauhan has taken him down. And how! The Indian won the first set and split points with a tie in the second. But in the third set, Kim levelled the scores at 3-3 and then the pair split points again in the fourth set. The final set was a nerve-wracking one, it was the only one where Neeraj did not start off with an x (that tiny spot in the dead centre of the target, right inside the 10 ring) while his opponent did. But Neeraj managed to seal the final set 29-27!

The Indian women's team of Anahat Singh, Tanvi Khanna and Joshna Chinappa is in action against Iran in a Pool C group stage game. The sport has already fetched India three medals, with Chinappa winning yet another medal in mixed doubles while Anahat and Abhay Singh claiming silver medals in the singles events.

Now for the squash teams to deliver medals as well (we're getting a little greedy, we know.)

The Indian women had won their first clash against Japan by a 2-1 margin on Monday.

The archers, just like most days recently, are starting us off! We have the recurve archers Dhiraj Bommadevara and Neeraj Chauhan starting us off in the 1/16 Elimination Round.

Dhiraj has already defeated Girvin Cullen Nigel Garcia of the Philippines 30-26, 29-28, 28-26 to claim the six set points on offer. Dhiraj advances to the pre-quarter-finals.

Neeraj is currently taking on Indonesia's Riau Ega Agata Salsabilla.