The Times of India

After battling viral fever and a rushed recovery, Neeru Dhanda arrived at the Asian Games 2026 with a dream of winning a medal. She left Aichi-Nagoya with three medals - two golds and a silver - and her sights now firmly set on the Los Angeles Olympics. With the World Championship in Doha her immediate target, Neeru wants to win an Olympic medal and end Indias long wait for a shotgun medal.

Shai Hope played a pivotal role in West Indies' remarkable success against India by scoring an unbeaten 162. His innings helped the team chase down a daunting target of 352 runs with ten balls to spare. After India's innings, bolstered by KL Rahuls 129, Hope drew inspiration from MS Dhoni to pace his batting.

India beat Pakistan by 19 runs in the Asian Games final, but controversy followed Saim Ayubs baby cradle send-off to 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. Former Pakistan player Kamran Akmal criticised the gesture, saying players should focus on performances rather than social media attention. India posted 211/6, while Hasan Nawazs 96 couldnt prevent Pakistans defeat.

Hope overshadowed KL Rahuls counterattacking unbeaten 129 off 87 balls that propelled India to 351/7. Dew may have played a part, but Hopes experience tamed down Indias inexperienced bowling with consummate ease

In many ways, it was a historic occasion. Brazil hadn't faced a team as lower ranked than India in 28 years. India hadn't gone up against a team as higher ranked as Brazil since rankings were introduced in August 1993. It helps significantly that Kolkata raves over Brazil (and Argentina).

India moved up to fourth place in the Asian Games 2026 medal tally after a big medal-winning day on Saturday. India added five gold medals across wrestling, golf, hockey, cricket and archery to take their overall tally to 85 medals - 21 gold, 27 silver and 37 bronze.

India produced one of their biggest medal hauls of the Asian Games on Saturday, with gold medals coming in men's hockey, T20 cricket, wrestling, golf and archery. The men's hockey team capped the day by beating Malaysia 5-1 in the final to retain their Asian Games title and book a place at the 2028 Olympics. India's medal tally now stands at 85 medals - 21 gold, 27 silver and 37 bronze.

The Aichi-Nagoya campaign produced a mix of expected results and disappointments before India's strong finish changed the picture. As recently as Thursday, India were outside the top 10 in the medal table with only 10 gold medals.

India had never won successive Asian Games gold medals, making Saturday's final an opportunity to create history. Harmanpreet Singh-led India made the most of it as they successfully defended their title.

Harita Bhadra arrived at the Asian Games chasing a podium and left Nagoya with two bronze medals - in the womens 200m and mixed 4x100m relay. In this exclusive TimesofIndia.com conversation, the sprinter talks about her breakthrough Games, the photo-finish 200m bronze, anchoring Indias relay, the mental lessons from Nagoya and her next target: the 22.45s World Championships qualifying mark.

Shreyas Iyer and Sahibzada Farhan maintained their no-handshake practice at the toss for the final match. This tradition has been ongoing since the 2025 Asia Cup, reflecting the tensions between India and Pakistan. India won the toss and decided to bat first in this crucial gold-medal game. India's lineup remained unchanged, featuring young Vaibhav Sooryavanshi at the top alongside Abhishek Sharma.

Lhuan-dre Pretorius has made T20 cricket history with his phenomenal score of 188 runs off 79 balls while playing for the Titans against the Knights. This feat breaks Chris Gayle's former record of 175 runs, showcasing Pretorius's exceptional talent as he maintained a striking rate of 237.97. His recent century for South Africa further underscores his remarkable consistency and prowess on the field.

India face Brazil in a highly anticipated football friendly at Kolkatas Salt Lake Stadium. With Brazil arriving under tight security, authorities are looking to avoid a repeat of the chaos surrounding Lionel Messis previous visit. Around 70% of tickets were still reportedly unsold ahead of the match.

A moment of appreciation and encouragement as Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks to Captain Smit Machchhar following his harrowing mid-air ordeal. PM Modi acknowledges the pilots courage and presence of mind during the emergency and extends his best wishes for a speedy recovery.

India produced a stunning six-gold haul on the penultimate day of the Asian Games on Friday, with the women's hockey team, three boxers, archers and wrestler Sujeet Kalkal leading a late surge that took the country into the top five of the medal table. India moved to fifth place with 76 medals - 16 gold, 25 silver and 35 bronze. India have more medals than fourth-placed Uzbekistan, who have 65, but trail them by four gold medals.