India secured another medal in Kurash at the 2026 Asian Games after Pincky Balhara reached the semifinals of the women’s 78kg category in Aichi-Nagoya.
Balhara defeated South Korea’s Lim Garam 3-0 in the quarterfinal to guarantee herself a place on the podium. The result also secured India’s third-ever Asian Games medal in Kurash.
Balhara is no stranger to the Asian Games podium. She won a silver medal at the 2018 Asian Games, but was eliminated in the quarterfinals at the 2022 Hangzhou Games. Her latest victory gives her another opportunity to fight for a medal.
Compound archery also produced an all-Indian contest. Ganesh Mani Ratnam Thirumuru defeated fellow Indian Sahil Jadhav 149-148 to move into the men’s individual quarterfinals. He became the only Indian remaining in the individual compound archery competition.
Ganesh will next face Chen Chieh-lun of Chinese Taipei as he continues his medal campaign.
India also had several athletes in action on the busy Day 9 schedule. Sivaraj Babu competed in the men’s shortboard surfing event, while India’s men’s cricket team faced Afghanistan in the quarterfinals. The official schedule also featured athletes including Avinash Sable, Murali Sreeshankar and javelin throwers Yash Vir Singh and Rohit Yadav.
In shooting, Manu Bhaker, Esha Singh and Rahi Sarnobat were scheduled to compete in the women’s 25m pistol events. Their programme included the qualification rounds and team competition.
In boxing, Lovlina Borgohain was scheduled to face South Korea’s Seong Suyeon in the women’s 75kg quarterfinal. The result could have an important impact on India’s medal hopes in boxing.
India’s compound archery teams had also advanced to the semifinals, with both the men’s and women’s teams set to face South Korea. The men’s team included Sahil Jadhav, Ganesh Mani Ratnam and Kushal Dalal.
With competition continuing across athletics, shooting, archery, boxing, cricket and other sports, Indian athletes are looking to add more medals to the country’s tally at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.