- October 4, 2026
Where Did India Lose 22 Medals? Comparing Each Sport At Asian Games 2022 And 2026
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India won 107 medals at the 2022 Asian Games, which dropped by 22 to 85 in 2026. We analyse which sports improved and which got worse.
News18
The Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026 have officially been declared closed, which means it’s time for us to see how India’s performances changed in comparison to the previous edition, the 2022 Hangzhou Games.
The big picture is that 2026 was India’s second-most successful Games outing with an overall medal haul of 85 (21 gold, 27 silver, 37 bronze), a drop from the all-time high of 107 medals (28 gold, 38 silver, 41 bronze) in 2022.
The primary drivers of this downturn were athletics and shooting, which previously accounted for nearly half of India’s podium finishes. Athletics saw its haul decrease from 29 to 24 medals, with gold medals falling sharply from six to one, courtesy of several near misses where Indian atheletes fell marginally behind other nations who put up Asiad-record numbers.
Shooting experienced a similar contraction, sliding from 22 medals (seven gold) in 2022 to 15 medals (three gold) in 2026.
Check the comparison of the changes in medals below.
Rowing and badminton also recorded notable drops in output, while sports such as tennis, chess, and equestrian failed to return to the podium. Rowing was a major disappointment, with atheletes complaining about last-minute changes to their events, and even going on a strike. For the first time in the history of the Asian Games, India didn’t win a medal in tennis.
Conversely, combat sports demonstrated notable qualitative improvement. Boxing and wrestling secured three and two gold medals, respectively, having won zero gold medals in the previous edition. Archery maintained its benchmark with nine medals, including five golds.
Traditional strongholds like cricket and kabaddi repeated their dual gold sweeps, while hockey upgraded its performance to two golds. India also registered maiden podium finishes in disciplines including mixed martial arts and kurash.
India also won three silver medals in events that were part of the 2022 Games but not the 2026 Games — two in Chess and one in Bridge. Similarly, India lost two bronze medals in roller skating because it was not part of the 2026 Games.
Check detailed medal counts here:
While India lost medals for events that were omitted, it didn’t gain anything in the new ones that were added, like padel, teqball, and surfing.
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Ask News18India secured an overall medal haul of 85 medals at the 2026 Asian Games, consisting of 21 gold, 27 silver, and 37 bronze medals.
Ask News18October 04, 2026, 17:00 IST
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