Preview -Asian Games 2026 part 7 of 8
–Athletics and the Rest

Here, we are looking at the blue-riband sport of athletics, along with a few other sports where India has medal chances that were not covered in the previous posts — weightlifting, equestrian, golf and teqball.

TQTeqball

A very recent sport, formulated just ten years ago, it has had a remarkable journey to reach the Asian Games so early. A mixture of football and table tennis, it makes for some fascinating viewing. India has already had a World Championship medal in 2024, with Declan and Anas in the men's pairs, so there is some chance of a medal here.

⛳Golf

The Indian golf scene this year has been rather dismal, with poor results from most of our golfers. Still, we do have a chance in the women's individual and women's team events, particularly through Aditi Ashok, who has a history of performing well above her seeding in multi-sport games.

A medal, or even two, is therefore possible here, although I don't see a gold possibility.

🐎Equestrian

We are participating in four events — individual and team dressage, and individual and team eventing.

In 2022, we had a breakthrough in team dressage, winning our first equestrian gold in nearly 40 years. This time, although Agarwalla was dropped in a somewhat controversial selection, we still have strong teams in both disciplines, with Fouaad Mirza returning to eventing and the 55-year-old Shruti Vora leading India's challenge in dressage.

Shruti, I believe, is the oldest competitor representing India at these Asian Games, and she is also a silver medallist at the Asian Dressage Championship.

I think we can get 2–3 medals here, with some chance of a gold.

🏋Weightlifting

Mirabai Chanu has been carrying Indian weightlifting on her capable shoulders — and small frame — for years. She has never won an Asian Games medal, which is a notable gap in her otherwise extraordinary résumé.

The last time India won a medal in this sport at the Asian Games was way back in 1998, when another great Indian weightlifter, Karnam Malleswari, won silver — the second of her two Asian Games medals.

This time, I predict a silver for Mirabai in the 49kg category, with a possible bronze for the hugely talented Gyaneshwari Devi in 53kg.

🏃Athletics

Finally, we reach our biggest medal-winning sport and the highlight of virtually every multi-sport Games — athletics.

India has done brilliantly in athletics, particularly since 2018. At the 2018 Asian Games, we won 8 gold, 9 silver and 3 bronze medals, while in 2022 we improved further to 6 gold, 14 silver and 9 bronze medals. Athletics contributed a huge 29 medals in 2022 — more than a quarter of India's record 106-medal haul.

So this sport is absolutely key to our hopes of repeating that performance.

The Gulf nations, especially Bahrain and Qatar, have improved further with the help of athletes of African origin. Japan's athletics programme has also taken wing, while China remains as strong as ever.

So, against this huge competition, can India hold its own without our great inspiration Neeraj Chopra, who is injured and out of the Games?

Road

Let's start with road events. India is not participating, somewhat surprisingly, in any of the four race-walking events.

We do have two women and two men in the marathon. Of these, Sawan Barwal, who recently broke Shivnath Singh's 48-year-old record, stands out. But even a medal for him looks like a long shot to me.

So, no medals expected in road events.

Track

Here India is squeezed between the African-origin athletes representing Bahrain and Qatar and the increasingly strong Japanese athletes.

In the women's events, we have good chances with Harita in the 200m, Vidya in the 400m, Pooja in the 800m and 1500m, Parul in both the 3000m steeplechase and 5000m, and Jyothi in the 100m hurdles. And, of course, we have both the 4×400m and 4×100m relays.

The problem is that we are well behind athletes such as Salwa Eid Naser, Nelly Jepkosgei and Winfred Yavi, who have been among the world's leading performers.

I feel we should get 4–5 medals here, with possible golds only in the 4×400m relay or for Jyothi if she is in top form in the 100m hurdles. My projection: 4–5 medals, including 0–2 golds.

In the men's events, we have chances in the 400m with Vishal, 1500m with Yunus, 5000m and 10,000m with Gulveer, as well as the men's 4×400m relay. So again, I see 3–5 medals.

Gulveer is our outstanding athlete on the track and has a chance of gold in the 10,000m. Unfortunately, in the 5000m, Balew of Bahrain, who has been performing very well this year, is likely to be his major competition. So there is little hope there unless Balew has an issue. Our men's 4×400m relay also has a chance of gold.

My projection: 3–5 medals and 0–2 golds.

Field Events — Women

Finally, we come to the field events, where India has traditionally done well.

In the women's events, we have a great line-up, with Ancy and Shaili in the long jump, Pooja Singh in the high jump, Manpreet in the shot put and Seema in the discus.

Even in events where we don't have athletes at the very highest level, such as the hammer throw, with Tanya and Anushka, and pole vault, with Branica and Sindhu, we should have medal chances.

Overall, I feel we can get 3–6 medals, with possibly 1–2 golds, most probably coming from the jumping events.

Field Events — Men

The men's field events are usually where India does best, and we have a tremendous line-up.

We have Sarvesh and Adarsh in the high jump, Murali and David in the long jump, Praveen and Karthik in the triple jump, Tajinderpal and Karan in the shot put, and Yashvir and Rohit in the javelin.

I would also add the decathlon, with Tejaswin, giving us a very strong overall team despite the absence of Neeraj.

I feel this is where we could get 3–5 golds, with the decathlon, shot put and jumps being our strongest hopes.

My projection: 4–6 medals, including 3–5 golds.

We have not covered quite a few sports — fencing, cycling, padel and others — where I feel a medal is very unlikely. So in the last post we will only be summarising the overall totals, along with my popular "eat my hat" prediction.