The competitive momentum at the 2026 Asian Games continues to build, with the Indian contingent aiming to expand its overall medal count across multiple disciplines. Following an uplifting breakthrough in weightlifting on September 23 that ended a lengthy wait for a medal, team morale remains exceptionally strong. That performance followed another spirited showing where the Indian men's badminton team secured a bronze medal after a challenging semifinal tie against China. As the schedule turns to September 24, track and field athletes begin their campaigns alongside medal contenders in shooting, rowing, gymnastics, and high-stakes clashes in hockey and kabaddi.
Roshibina Devi Targets Wushu Gold
The headline contest of the early morning features India's Roshibina Devi in the women's sanda 60kg final. Scheduled for 6:10 AM, this bout presents a direct opportunity to secure a gold medal as she squares off against host competitor Xiaoyu Zhang of China. Overcoming the home favorite on her home turf will demand tactical discipline and sharpness, but Roshibina enters the ring with strong momentum from her preliminary rounds.
Precision at the Range and Action on the Track
India's pistol and shotgun shooters will tackle an intensive program starting early in the morning. At 6:15 AM, the trio of Aakash Bhardwaj, Kamaljeet, and Kedarling Uchaganve will compete in the 10m air pistol men's individual qualification round. Running concurrently, the same scores will determine the podium in the 10m air pistol men's team final medal event. Should the Indian shooters advance to the top eight individual ranks, they will return for the 10m air pistol men's individual final at 12:15 PM. Meanwhile, in shotgun shooting, Anant Jeet Singh Naruka and Parinaaz Dhaliwal will start their qualification in the skeet mixed team event at 6:30 AM, aiming for a berth in the medal final at 11:15 AM.
Track and field events also swing into gear on September 24. The grueling women's heptathlon features Indian athletes Pooja and Anamika Kozhinjparambil Aneesh across four disciplines through the day: the 100m hurdles at 6:30 AM, high jump at 7:10 AM, shot put at 3:35 PM, and the 200m heats at 5:30 PM. In relay racing, the 4 x 400m mixed relay quartet of Jay Kumar, Manu Thekkinalil Saji, Rashdeep Kaur, and Ansa Babu will contest round 1 heats at 7:01 AM, eyeing qualification for the final at 6:45 PM. The evening track schedule heats up further with Niharika Vashisht and Aasha Ilango taking part in the women's triple jump final at 4:14 PM, Gurindervir Singh and Animesh Kujur sprinting in the men's 100m round 1 heats at 4:38 PM, and Seema challenging the field in the women's 10,000m final at 5:55 PM.
Medal Quests Across Rowing, Canoeing, and Aquatics
Indian rowers face a critical morning at the water sports venue with multiple medal finals on tap. The action begins at 5:10 AM with Balraj Panwar rowing in the men's single sculls final. At 5:30 AM, Satnam Singh and Salman Khan take on Final A of the men's double sculls. Jaswinder Singh and Nitin Kumar follow in the men's pair Final B at 6:30 AM. In the women's four Final A at 7:10 AM, Gurbani Kaur, Aleena Anto, Tendenthoi Devi Haobijam, and Poonam will chase a podium finish. Later in the morning, Ajay Tyagi rows in the lightweight men's single sculls Final B at 11:20 AM, Rohit and Ujjwal Kumar Singh line up in the lightweight men's double sculls Final A at 12:00 PM, and the crew of Kulwinder Singh, Navdeep Singh, Arvind Singh, and Jakar Khan battles in the men's quadruple sculls Final A at 1:00 PM.
Canoe sprint competitors will also look to convert early starts into medals. Megha Pradeep features in the women's canoe single 200m semifinal 1 at 6:30 AM, aiming to book a spot in Final A at 8:00 AM. Sonia Devi Phairembam and Parvathy Geetha pair up in the women's kayak double 500m semifinal 1 at 6:50 AM, with their Final A scheduled for 8:20 AM. In direct medal races, Naocha Singh Laitonjam, Varinder Singh, Oinam Arun Singh, and Harshwardhan Singh Shaktawat row in the men's kayak four 500m final at 8:10 AM, followed by Raju Rawat and Gyaneshwor Singh Philem in the men's canoe double 500m final at 8:30 AM. Heats for Harshwardhan Singh Shaktawat in the men's kayak single 500m and the mixed kayak double 500m pair of Parvathy Geetha and Prasanna Kumar Chempadiyil Sathyaprakash take place at 11:10 AM and 11:40 AM respectively.
In the swimming pool, Benedicton Rohit dives in for the men's 50m butterfly heats at 6:46 AM, targeting the afternoon final at 1:35 PM. Aryan Nehra competes in the men's 800m freestyle Final B at 7:21 AM. The Indian men's 4 x 100m freestyle relay squad, featuring Aneesh Sunil, Benedicton Rohit, Akash Mani, and Heer Gitesh Shah, races in heats at 7:32 AM, with the final slated for 2:48 PM.
Team Clashes in Hockey and Kabaddi, Combat Sports Roster
Major team events provide high stakes throughout the middle of the day. The Indian men's hockey team meets Korea in a crucial Pool A fixture at 11:30 AM. In kabaddi, the Indian men face Chinese Taipei in Group A at 9:45 AM, while the Indian women meet Japan in their Group A encounter at 4:15 PM.
In table tennis, women's doubles round 2 fixtures pit Yashaswini Ghorpade and Diya Chitale against Iran's Setayesh Ilookhani and Mahshid Ashtari at 6:30 AM, while Sreeja Akula and Syndrela Das take on Mongolia's Bolor-Erdene Batmunkh and Burenjargal Sanjaa at 7:10 AM. Manush Shah enters men's singles round 1 against Malaysia's Chee Shen Wong at 8:35 AM. Boxing features three round of 16 encounters: Sumit meets Iraq's Ali Qasim Hamdan Al-Sarre at 10:30 AM in the men's 70kg division, Sakshi faces Kazakhstan's Alua Balkibekova at 2:15 PM in the women's 65kg division, and Parveen takes on Tajikistan's Malika Nozimova at 2:45 PM. Gymnastics sees Pranati Nayak contest the women's vault final at 2:25 PM. Fencing will see Shreya Gupta and C. A. Bhavani Devi enter the women's sabre individual pool stage starting at 8:15 AM, progressing through knockout rounds toward a 3:10 PM final. Squash and esports also pack the schedule with multiple Indian participants across the afternoon.
