Indian athletes take on a packed schedule across 15 sports on the eighth day of competition at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, featuring high-stakes medal matches in kabaddi, track and field events, and foundational qualification rounds.
Morning Session: Surfing, Marathons, and Qualification Rounds
Competition begins in the early hours with surfing and marathon events. Kabali Prakash competes in the women’s shortboard round two heat three at 3:58 AM, followed by Sugar Shanti Gayen in heat seven at 4:54 AM. Sawan Barwal and Kartik Karkera run in the men’s marathon final starting at 4:00 AM. Archery qualification gets underway at 4:30 AM with the recurve men’s team—featuring Dhiraj Bommadevara, Yashdeep Bhoge, and Neeraj Chauhan—alongside the compound women’s team consisting of Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Prathika प्रदीप, and Chikita.
Badminton, Shooting, and Paddling Events
Action shifts across multiple venues as the morning progresses. Badminton player Loh Kean Yew of Singapore meets Lakshya Sen in the men’s singles second round at 6:00 AM. Dressage riders Gaurav Pundir, Hrday Chheda, Shruti Vora, and Jay Sud take to the second qualifier in equestrian at 6:00 AM, while the women’s foil fencing team faces Indonesia. Tilottama Sen, Aashi Chouksey, and Vidarsa K. Vinod compete in the 50-meter rifle three-positions women’s individual qualification and team final starting at 6:15 AM. Yashaswini Ghorpade faces Japan’s Miwa Harimoto in the women’s singles table tennis round of 16 at 6:30 AM, running concurrently with the canoe sprint semifinals and finals featuring Harshvardhan Singh, Parvati Gita, and Prasanna Kumar.
Kabaddi Gold Medal Matches and Archery
Medal events intensify around midday. The Indian women’s kabaddi team plays Iran in the gold medal match at 9:30 AM. Concurrently, the 50-meter rifle three-positions women’s individual final takes place, and sailing opening series races commence for mixed dinghy and skiff classes. Jadumani Singh squares off against the Philippines’ Carlo Paalam in the men’s 55kg boxing round of 16 at 10:15 AM. Squash players Anahat Singh and Abhay Singh contest their respective singles semifinals starting at 10:30 AM, preceding women’s singles badminton matches featuring Unnati Hooda and PV Sindhu.
Evening Track and Field and Hockey Clashes
The afternoon and evening slates feature team sports and track finals. The Indian men’s hockey team meets Japan in a Pool A match at 1:30 PM. Kapil Pokharia fights Iran’s Sam Estaki in the men’s 90kg boxing category at 2:15 PM, followed by the men’s kabaddi team final against Iran at 2:30 PM. Track and field events resume with the decathlon high jump at 2:35 PM, the women’s 100-meter hurdles featuring Jyoti Yarraji, and the men’s shot put final where Tajinderpal Singh Toor and Karanvir Singh represent India at 4:30 PM. The evening concludes with the men’s triple jump final, 1500-meter heats, and finals in the women’s and men’s 400-meter events.