Pranati Nayak Advances to Vault Final at 2026 Asian Games

Pranati Nayak Shines in Vault Qualification

In Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, on September 22, Pranati Nayak, representing India as the only gymnast at the 2026 Asian Games, secured her spot in the women's individual vault final. She achieved a commendable seventh place out of 19 participants during the qualification round, accumulating a total score of 12.916.

The final event is set to take place on September 24, featuring eight gymnasts. Pranati, who specializes solely in the vault—India's strongest discipline in artistic gymnastics—demonstrated her skills with consistent performances in both attempts, as reported by ESPN.

The 31-year-old gymnast recorded a score of 13.000 on her first vault, which included a difficulty score of 4.4 and an execution score of 8.600. In her second attempt, she scored 12.433, with a difficulty of 4.0 and an execution of 8.433.

A participant in the Tokyo Olympics, Pranati is also a three-time bronze medalist at the Asian Gymnastics Championships. She entered the Asian Games following a silver medal win in the women's vault at the FIG World Challenge Cup 2026 held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

India's Success in Other Sports

In addition to gymnastics, India's women's cricket team celebrated their second consecutive gold medal at the Asian Games, triumphing over Sri Lanka by 147 runs in the T20 final. India set a formidable target of 216/3 and subsequently bowled Sri Lanka out for just 69 runs in 15.4 overs.

India also made strides in men's badminton, securing a victory against Japan with a score of 3-0 in the quarterfinals, while the women's team faced a setback, losing 3-1 to Japan in their quarterfinal match.

In wushu, Roshibina Devi guaranteed a medal by defeating Macao's Chu Man Sin in the women's 60kg quarterfinal. The men's kabaddi team of India achieved a significant win, overpowering South Korea with a score of 63-31 in Group A.

In boxing, Sakshi Chaudhary emerged victorious against the Philippines' Aira Villegas in the women's 51kg round of 32, while Jadumani Singh triumphed over Nepal's Chandra Bahadur Thapa in the men's 55kg round of 32.

In shooting, Elavenil Valarivan and Parth Mane finished fourth in the 10m air rifle mixed team final. Anantjeet Singh Naruka ranked second in men's skeet qualification after the second day, while Mairaj Khan and Bhavtegh Singh Gill placed 23rd and 35th, respectively. In the women's category, Raiza Dhillon finished fifth, Parinaaz Dhaliwal ninth, and Maheshwari Chauhan sixteenth.

India's women's table tennis team secured a narrow victory against Thailand, winning 3-2 in the round of 16, while the men's team was defeated 0-3 by the Republic of Korea in the opening round.

In swimming, India placed eighth in the 4x100m medley relay final. Aryan Nehra finished fourth in the men's 1500m freestyle final B, and the men's 4x100m medley relay team, consisting of Rishabh Das, Akash Mani, Benediction Beniston, and Dhanush Suresh, qualified for the final after finishing seventh overall in the heats.

China has emerged as the first nation to surpass 50 medals at the Games, boasting a tally of 31 gold, 13 silver, and eight bronze. India currently ranks eighth in the medal standings with a total of seven medals—one gold, four silver, and two bronze.