Exciting Day 8 Ahead for Indian Athletes at Asian Games 2026

Packed Schedule for Indian Contingent

On September 26, the Indian team is gearing up for an action-packed Day 8 at the Asian Games 2026, featuring numerous medal events, finals, and critical qualification rounds across various sports.

The day kicks off early with Kamali Moorthy competing against Singapore's Camille Marie in the women's shortboard Round 2 at 3:58 AM IST at Long Beach, Tahara. Following this, race walkers Priyanka and Manju Rani will participate in the women's marathon race walk final at 4:00 AM.

India's archery team will also start their journey early, with Sahil Rajesh Jadhav, Thirumuru Ganesh Maniratnam, and Kushal Dalal competing in the men's compound team elimination round against the UAE, while the women's compound team faces Mongolia. Surfers Sugar Shanti Banarse and Sivaraj Babu will also be in action, and India's Sepaktakraw team will challenge the Republic of Korea at 5:30 AM.

At 6:00 AM, equestrian riders Hriday Chheda and Jai Sud will take part in the individual dressage final. In badminton, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand will face Malaysia in the women's doubles quarterfinals, while Dhruv and Tanisha will compete against China's Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dongping in mixed doubles.

The shooting team will also be active, with Esha Singh, Manu Bhaker, and Rahi Sarnobat participating in the 25m pistol precision qualification starting at 6:10 AM, followed by trap shooters Kynan Chenai, Ahvar Rizvi, Shapath Bharadwaj, Neeru, Manisha Keer, and Aashima Ahlawat at 6:30 AM.

Kurash athletes Sangita and Bharti will begin their events at 6:30 AM, while India's recurve and compound mixed teams will compete in archery from 7:30 AM.

The morning session will also feature India's sailors at the Kaiyoh Yacht Harbor, while decathletes Tejaswin Shankar and Thowfeeq Noushad continue their demanding 10-event competition, tackling the 110m hurdles, discus throw, pole vault, javelin throw, and 1500m throughout the day.

CA Bhavani Devi and the women's sabre fencing team will face Indonesia at 8:20 AM. Indian athletes will also participate in the 400m hurdles heats and long jump qualification rounds, with Santosh Kumar Tamilarasan, Yashas Palaksha, Vithya Ramraj, and Anu Raghavan among those competing.

Badminton stars PV Sindhu and Unnati Hooda will encounter tough opponents in the women's singles quarterfinals, with Sindhu matched against China's Chen Yufei and Hooda up against Japan's Akane Yamaguchi. Weightlifter Harjinder Kaur will compete in the women's 69kg final Group A at 10:00 AM.

Squash presents two significant gold-medal opportunities for India. Abhay Singh will face Malaysia's Ng Eain Yow in the men's singles final at 12:30 PM, while Anahat Singh will take on Malaysia's Sivasangari Subramaniam in the women's singles final at 1:30 PM.

In team sports, India's men's volleyball team will compete against Vietnam at 12:30 PM, while the women's hockey team will face Singapore in a Pool B match at 3:30 PM. Indian boxers Ankush, Parveen, Sachin, and Narender will also participate in their respective quarterfinal bouts.

Athletics will take center stage in the evening, with Shaili Singh and Ancy Sojan Edapilly competing in the women's long jump final at 3:25 PM. Harita Bhadra and Unnati Aiyappa Bolland will line up for the women's 200m final, followed by Animesh Kujur in the men's 200m final.

Sarvesh Anil Kushare and Adarsh Ram Jothi Shankar will contest the men's high jump final, while Nandhini Kongan will compete in the women's 100m hurdles final.

Parul Chaudhary and Ankita will then participate in the women's 3000m steeplechase final, concluding the day's athletics events with India's women's 4x100m relay team.

With numerous medal opportunities in squash, athletics, weightlifting, equestrian, and race walking, along with high-stakes competitions in badminton, archery, shooting, and team sports, Day 8 is set to be one of the busiest yet for the Indian contingent at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.