By Elavenil Valarivan won two medals on the opening day of the Asian Games, a team silver and an individual silver in the women’s 10m air rifle.
Her individual silver made her the first Indian woman to win that event’s silver at the Games.
India’s tally has since grown to six medals after Day 2 added three shooting medals and an MMA bronze.
India was 12th in the medal standings at that stage.
The Games run until October 4.
Himanshu Dhillon, Rudrankksh Patil and Parth Mane combined to win silver in the men’s 10m air rifle team event.
Dhillon and Patil then added an individual silver and bronze respectively in the men’s 10m air rifle final.
Suchika Tariyal won bronze in the women’s traditional -60kg mixed martial arts division, India’s first Asian Games medal in the sport.
On the opening day, India’s women’s 10m air rifle team of Elavenil Valarivan, Sonam Maskar and Vidarsa Vinod won silver behind China.
Elavenil Valarivan added an individual silver in the same event, becoming the first Indian woman to win that individual medal at the Asian Games.
The Games are being held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, from September 19 to October 4, 2026.
India has also reached the cricket gold medal match and has been winning big in hockey, adding to the medal prospects.
Badminton, kabaddi, boxing and table tennis are among the other sports where Indian athletes have been in action.
The medal standings at this stage of a multi-sport Games can shift quickly as more finals are contested in the coming days.
China and Japan were among the countries ahead of India in the medal standings at that stage of the Games.
India’s shooting squad has performed strongly across recent multi-sport events, including the Asian Games and the Olympics.
More finals across multiple sports remain to be contested before the Games conclude on October 4.
Medal podium (representative image), Wikimedia Commons, public domain
