Asian Games 2026 Updates: Srihari ends 50m backstroke final in 8th place

Srihari Nataraj finished eighth in the men's 50m backstroke final, clocking 25.52 seconds.

China's Xu Jiayu took gold in a Games-record 24.04 seconds.

Kidambi Srikanth has completed a dominant outing for India, wrapping up a straight-games win over Bangladesh's Jumar Al Amin.

Srikanth took the second game 21-9 to seal the match and complete a 3-0 victory for India in the men's team Round of 16.

Lakshya Sen and Ayush Shetty had already put India 2-0 ahead, leaving the doubles pair with no need to take the court.

India now advance to the quarter-finals.

The Indian men's sepaktakraw team squandered a one-match lead to lose 1-2 to hosts Japan in the its opening Group B regu event fixture.

India had started on a bright note, winning the first match 15-13, 15-9 but couldn't keep up as Japan mounted a comeback.

India fought hard but went down 2-1 (12-15, 15-17, 11-15) in the second match before surrendering the third one 2-0 (9-15, 12-15).

India will next face Malaysia in its second group-stage match on Tuesday.

At the previous edition in Hangzhou, India won a bronze in the women's team regu event.

Sepak Takraw, which directly translates to kick the ball, has been part of the Games program since 1990. India has participated in it since the 2006 edition and is slowly catching up with South East Asian countries, where the sport has a huge following.

Ayush Shetty has made it another comfortable outing for India, cruising past Bangladesh's Gourab Singha 21-4, 21-13.

The World No. 20 never looked in trouble against the 22-year-old Bangladeshi, ranked 589th in the world, and wrapped up the match in straight games.

India lead Bangladesh 2-0.

India have made a flying start in the men's team event, with Lakshya Sen cruising past Bangladesh's Ayman Ibn Jaman 21-4, 21-12.

It was a one-sided opening game as Lakshya quickly stamped his authority, before wrapping up the match in straight games.

India lead Bangladesh 1-0.

India have demolished Indonesia, racing to a stunning 17-1 lead with four minutes left in the final quarter.

After a goalless opening 10 minutes of the fourth quarter, Navneet broke the deadlock with a powerful slap hit from a penalty corner to make it 15-1.

Sakshi then produced some superb dribbling before finding the net for India's 16th. The goal was briefly checked but eventually awarded.

And Navneet was not done yet. She smashed another brilliant effort into the bottom corner to complete her hat-trick and make it 17-1.

India lead 14-1 at the end of the third quarter and have continued their goal fest in the final 15 minutes.

India are running riot against Indonesia, with the score now 13-1.

Deepika's second goal of the match, another superb drag-flick, made it 8-0. It was also her 10th goal of the tournament, after she scored eight against Uzbekistan.

Sunelita then added her second with a neat deflection from Navneet's penalty-corner strike as India went into half-time 9-0 ahead.

Indonesia finally got on the scoresheet early in the third quarter when Sri Rahayu deflected one in after India had denied them from two penalty corners.

But that did little to slow India down. Salima Tete scored her first of the match, Navneet smashed one home from the centre of the circle, and Ishika converted a rebound.

Rutuja then added another from close range after yet another save from the Indonesian goalkeeper.

India are completely in control at 13-1.

India made a strong start to their Asian Games campaign, dominating Japan from the outset before sealing a comfortable 49-24 victory.

The win extends India's unbeaten record against Japan in Asian Games Kabaddi.

Hockey: India vs Indonesia

India have come flying out of the blocks, scoring seven goals in 25 minutes against Indonesia.

Deepika opened the scoring in the eighth minute with a superb low drag-flick from a penalty corner. Three minutes later, Neha's shot was deflected in by Sunelita to make it 2-0.

Lalremsiami then pounced on a rebound to score India's third, before Rutuja converted another rebound to make it 4-0 at the end of the first quarter.

India picked up right where they left off after the restart. Lalremsiami scored her second with a reverse hit, Rutuja added another after a flowing team move and Sakshi Rana finished off a rebound to make it 7-0.

India are completely in control, with Indonesia struggling to contain the relentless attack.

Japan struck first, but India quickly took control. Ayan Lochhab levelled before Ashu produced a brilliant three-point raid. India followed it up with a tackle and more raid points to inflict the first all-out.

The dominance continued as India forced a second all-out, with Japan struggling to cope with the relentless raiding and defence.

India take a commanding 22-point lead into half-time, with Ashu and Devank leading the attack and Sunil Kumar and Rahul marshalling the defence.

India have completed a double podium in the men's 10m air rifle final, with Himanshu Dhillon winning silver and Rudrankksh Patil taking bronze.

Rudrankksh's 9.7 on the previous shot proved costly, dropping him to third. He finishes just 0.1 points behind Himanshu.

Himanshu then had one final chance to chase down China's Sheng Lihao, who led by 2.0 points. Sheng shot 10.6, while Himanshu responded with a 10.8 to reduce the gap to 1.8.

But there was no late twist. Both shooters fired 10.6 with their final shots, confirming gold for Sheng, silver for Himanshu and bronze for Rudrankksh.

A superb double podium for India!

Rudrankksh Patil has slipped to third after a 9.7 on his 21st shot.

Himanshu Dhillon moves into second, opening up a 0.3-point lead over his fellow Indian. Sheng Lihao continues to lead at the top.

The battle for the two podium spots behind Sheng is getting tense.

Men's 10m Air Rifle Final

India are closing in on a double podium in the men's 10m air rifle final.

Rudrankksh Patil shoots a 10.7 on the 19th shot, while Sheng Lihao manages 10.6 and Himanshu Dhillon 10.5. Himanshu has opened up a 2.1-point cushion over fourth-placed Bayaraa Nyantai.

And now it's confirmed -- Mongolia's Bayaraa is eliminated after 20 shots, leaving both Indian shooters in the top three.

Standings after 20 shots

Sheng Lihao - 211.6

Rudrankksh Patil - 210.6

Himanshu Dhillon - 210.0

Bayaraa finishes fourth with 187.2 and is eliminated.

India are now guaranteed a double podium!

Sheng Lihao has moved into the lead after 16 shots, but India's Rudrankksh Patil and Himanshu Dhillon are right on his heels.

Sheng shoots a 10.7, while Rudrankksh manages 10.2 and Himanshu 10.3. The two Indians are now tied for second, just 0.2 points behind the Chinese shooter.

It's an Indian 1-2 after the first elimination!

What a start for India!

Rudrankksh Patil leads the final with 127.4 points, while Himanshu Dhillon is right behind him in second with 126.6. China's Sheng Lihao is third on 126.3.

Indonesia's Kanurian Al Ghozi, who scored 123.2, is the first shooter to bow out of the final.

India are now sitting pretty at the top of the standings.

The men's 10m air rifle final is underway, with India's Rudrankksh Patil and Himanshu Dhillon among the eight shooters battling for the medals.

China's Sheng Lihao is favourite but Rudrankksh has made a flying start, taking the lead after the opening series.

Rudrankksh shot 52.8 in the first round, with Sheng on 51.7 and Himanshu close behind on 52.2.

He then produced a strong 53.2 in the second series to extend his lead to 1.1 points. After two rounds, Rudrankksh leads with 106.0, followed by Sheng on 104.9, while Himanshu is third with 104.8.

The pressure is now mounting, with the first elimination set to come after shot 12.

Rudrankksh fires a 10.6, while Himanshu and Sheng both manage 10.9s. After 11 shots, Rudrankksh remains in front on 116.6, with Himanshu third on 115.7.

India are firmly in the medal hunt as the final heats up.

At 36, Suchika Tariyal fought hard for a place in the gold medal bout after becoming the first Indian athlete to assure a medal at the Asian Games.

The Indian took the fight to Singapore's Teo Hui Hoon early, even managing to put her opponent on the mat. But Teo edged the opening round 3-0 on the judges' scorecards.

Suchika responded in the second round, landing punches and taking it 2-1 to keep her hopes alive. With the bout tied, the semifinal went into overtime.

Both fighters went all out in the final minute, trading punches until the final seconds. But it was Teo who got the verdict and advanced to the final.

That's a superb achievement, but Suchika is clearly not happy with the result. The 36-year-old is in tears after the semifinal loss, with her coach by her side, trying to console her.

She may have missed out on a place in the gold medal bout, but Suchika leaves with a bronze medal.

India got off to a winning start in boxing, with Sumit putting up a dominant show against Thailand's Bunjong Sinsiri in the men's 70kg round of 32.

Sumit took the opening round 4-1 and continued to control the bout with patient, well-timed punches. He stepped up the pressure in the final 30 seconds and carried that momentum into the second round.

The Indian boxer completely dominated the final round to seal a convincing 5-0 victory and book his place in the round of 16.

A confident start for India in the boxing ring.

India made light work of Pakistan, cruising to a 3-0 victory in the women's team event to top Group F and book their place in the quarterfinals.

Sutirtha Mukherjee got India off to a winning start, comfortably beating Aleena Khan 11-3, 11-3, 11-4. Syndrela Das then followed up with an equally impressive 11-6, 11-7, 11-5 win over Kalsoom Khan on her Asian Games debut.

Sreeja Akula completed the clean sweep, defeating Fatima Khan 11-4, 11-4, 11-5 to seal the tie for India.

Sutirtha and Syndrela had come into the playing side in place of Diya Chitale and Yashaswini Ghorpade.

Welcome to the coverage of Asian Games 2026 Day 2!

India secured a silver medal in the men's 10m air rifle team event at the Asian Games on Monday, with Rudrankksh Patil and Himanshu Dhillon also making it to the individual final.

Rudrankksh, Himanshu and Parth Mane combined for a team score of 1890.1 points, finishing behind China, who won gold with a world-record 1899.0.

South Korea fought hard for the third spot but had to settle for bronze with 1884.2 points.

Rudrankksh was third in the individual qualification with 631.8 points, while Himanshu finished seventh with 630.0 to qualify for the final. Parth missed out after finishing 10th with 628.3.

The silver was India's second medal in shooting at the Games. Earlier, Elavenil Valarivan, Sonam Maskar and Vidarsa Vinod had won silver in the women's 10m air rifle team event, before Elavenil added an individual silver.