Wow, it seems just yesterday we were watching India at the Commonwealth Games — and yet here we are, just a fortnight or so from the Asian Games. For Indian sports fans, the Asian Games hold a special place, because they are the closest equivalent to the Olympic Games in terms of the sports contested. Unlike the Commonwealth Games, where several major Olympic sports are excluded and the programme changes every time, the Asian Games feature a sporting landscape that closely mirrors the Olympics.
That makes them an important benchmark for assessing India's strength across the full spectrum of Olympic sports, and a clear indication of where the country stands on the road to the Olympics.
The Asian Games are also India's biggest celebration of sporting excellence beyond the Olympics. India crossed the landmark of 100 medals at the last edition, making the Games a platform that recognises and rewards the country's finest athletes across a wide range of Olympic disciplines.
Every edition produces nail-biting contests, memorable performances, historic victories, and inspiring stories that unite the nation. These achievements create moments of great national pride and inspire future generations in sport. Mary Kom, for example, was inspired by Dingko Singh's gold at the 1998 Asian Games, and the legendary Hawa Singh's double gold medals in boxing during the 1966 and 1970 Asian Games spawned the entire Bhiwani boxing scene — a continuous assembly line of boxers emerging, from Vijender to Jaismine.
The historical context
A quick glance at India's results over the last 11 editions — spanning roughly 50 years — reveals three distinct phases. Having followed the Asian Games fairly consistently across the years, this trend is unmistakable.
| Games | Rank | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 New Delhi | 5 | 13 | 19 | 25 | 57 |
| 1986 Seoul | 5 | 5 | 9 | 23 | 37 |
| 1990 Beijing | 11 | 1 | 8 | 14 | 23 |
| 1994 Hiroshima | 8 | 4 | 3 | 16 | 23 |
| 1998 Bangkok | 9 | 7 | 11 | 17 | 35 |
| 2002 Busan | 7 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 36 |
| 2006 Doha | 8 | 10 | 17 | 26 | 53 |
| 2010 Guangzhou | 6 | 14 | 17 | 34 | 65 |
| 2014 Incheon | 8 | 11 | 9 | 37 | 57 |
| 2018 Jakarta & Palembang | 8 | 16 | 23 | 31 | 70 |
| 2022 Hangzhou | 4 | 28 | 38 | 40 | 106 |
Basic-Basement Performance
23–57- Medal tally fluctuated between 23 and 57
- India remained a mid-tier Asian sporting nation
Steady Growth
35–70- Regular improvements in medal count
- Better performances across athletics, shooting, wrestling, boxing, badminton, and other Olympic sports
Breakthrough Year
106- First 100+ medal haul
- Highest-ever gold medal count
- Highest-ever ranking (4th)
- Signals India's emergence as one of Asia's leading multi-sport nations
India's Asian Games performance shows a clear long-term upward trajectory, with a dramatic breakthrough in the most recent edition. Perhaps the most encouraging aspect is that the improvement was broad-based. Growth is evident in gold, silver, bronze, overall medals, and final ranking — suggesting that India's success is increasingly driven by strength across multiple disciplines rather than dependence on a handful of sports.
So what will happen at the 2026 Asian Games?
The 2022 Games in Hangzhou marked a major breakthrough for India in an Olympic-sports multi-sport event: 28 golds, 106 medals, and 4th position on the medal table — each an amazing achievement in its own right.
That is the question that plagues every Indian sports fan right now. And there are real reasons for caution. The 2022 Games included sports like chess, bridge, and roller sports, which together gave India 5 medals — none of these will feature in 2026. India also had a huge bonanza performance in archery, shooting, and squash, which may be difficult to replicate. And the squad itself is considerably smaller: down from 661 athletes in 2022 to a reduced 492 for 2026.
Not returning in 2026
Together these disciplines delivered 5 of India's 106 medals in 2022 — a small but real headwind heading into Aichi-Nagoya.
So, in the next 7 articles, I will be going through the 35 sports that India will participate in at the 2026 Asian Games, look at what may lie in store, predict our medal mix, and try to give a clear and detailed answer to the question that matters most: can we replicate 2022?
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