The Day 1 at Aichi Nagoya 2026 produced medals across Shooting, Swimming, Triathlon, Teqball, Wushu and other disciplines, while India combined two Shooting silvers with a Cricket final berth and a historic MMA medal.
The Day 1 at Aichi Nagoya 2026 produced an early indication of the balance of sporting power in Asia, with China leading the medal table with 11 gold, 6 silver and 3 bronze medals. Hosts Japan finished the day with 6 gold, 7 silver and 7 bronze, while South Korea collected 4 gold, 3 silver and 7 bronze.
The Games, which opened in Nagoya on September 19, are being held across Aichi-Nagoya and other Japanese venues until October 4. The 20th edition features 43 sports and 469 medal events.
China’s opening-day performance
Yu Zidi, only 13, won the Women’s 200m Butterfly in 2:05.08, breaking the previous Asian Games record of 2:05.57. Olympic champion Pan Zhanle defended his Men’s 100m Freestyle title, winning in 47.61 seconds. China finished the day with six swimming golds among its 11 overall titles.
Japan’s first gold of its home Games came from Takumi Hojo, who won the Men’s Individual Triathlon. He finished nine seconds ahead of China’s Zhang Xirui, with Kazakhstan’s Arlan Zhanabay taking bronze.
Japan also won gold in the Women’s 10m Air Rifle with Hinata Taichi, while Kazakhstan’s Rinata Sultanova won the Women’s Individual Road Cycling Time Trial.
The day also marked the Asian Games debut of Teqball, with Thailand winning three of the five gold medals on offer. South Korea’s Lee Jun-suk won the Men’s Singles title.
India: Two silvers, two more medals assured
India ended Day 1 at Aichi Nagoya 2026 with two medals officially won- both silver in Shooting- and two additional medals assured in Women’s Cricket and MMA.
Elavenil’s double silver
Elavenil Valarivan was at the centre of India’s medal campaign. She first combined with Sonam Maskar and Vidarsa Vinod K to win silver in the Women’s 10m Air Rifle Team event. The Indian trio scored 1,898.0 points, finishing behind China’s 1,904.2, which was a world-record score. Japan took bronze with 1,897.1.
Valarivan then added an individual silver. She scored 252.4 in the Women’s 10m Air Rifle final, finishing behind Japan’s Hinata Taichi, who won gold with an Asian Games record of 253.0. South Korea’s Ban Hyojin took bronze with 230.4.
Shafali Verma makes Asian Games cricket history
India’s Women’s Cricket team also produced one of the day’s biggest performances. Defending champions India defeated Bangladesh by 114 runs in the semifinal to reach the gold-medal match against Sri Lanka on September 22.
On Day 1 at Aichi Nagoya 2026, Shafali Verma smashed an unbeaten 100 from 49 balls, including nine sixes and three fours, as India posted 195/4. The century was historic as Shafali became the first cricketer to score a century in the history of Asian Games cricket. It was also her maiden T20I century.
Smriti Mandhana scored 37, while captain Harmanpreet Kaur made 40, adding to India’s imposing total. Bangladesh were then bowled out for 81.
Suchika Tariyal guarantees India’s first MMA medal
Another piece of history came from a sport making its Asian Games debut. India’s Suchika Tariyal defeated Mongolia’s Altanchimeg Baigalmaa 2-0 in the Women’s Traditional MMA 60kg quarterfinal to reach the semifinals, thus securing at least a bronze medal. She will fight again on September 21 for a place in the final.
Hockey begins with a goal rush
India’s Men’s and Women’s Hockey teams both opened their campaigns with emphatic victories. The Men defeated Indonesia 13-1, while the Women beat Uzbekistan 19-0. The Women’s victory was particularly striking, with Deepika scoring eight goals in India’s opening match.
Badminton and Table Tennis produce mixed results
India’s Women’s Badminton team opened its campaign with a 3-0 victory over Kazakhstan. The Indian Women’s team defeated Indonesia 3-0 and then beat Singapore 3-2 in Group F. The Men’s team also began with a 3-0 victory over Indonesia, but later lost 0-3 to Iran.
Quimcy D’Souza misses two Teqball medals
India’s Quimcy D’Souza, who had reached the medal rounds in Teqball’s Asian Games debut, ended the day just outside the podium. She lost the Women’s Singles bronze-medal match to Japan’s Yuina Sakamoto, 0-2 and later, alongside Mohamed Anas Beg, lost the Mixed Doubles bronze-medal match.
D’Souza therefore finished fourth in Women’s singles, while India missed out on both available bronze medals.
Swimming: Rishabh Das finishes sixth
India’s Rishabh Das reached the men’s 100m Backstroke final and finished sixth in 54.77 seconds. In the Men’s 100m Freestyle heats, Benedicton Beniston finished 12th and Akash Mani 23rd, with neither advancing to the final.
Day 1 at Aichi Nagoya 2026: Medal Table after September 20
| Rank | NOC | 🥇 Gold | 🥈 Silver | 🥉 Bronze | Total |
|---|
| 1 | China | 11 | 6 | 3 | 20 |
| 2 | Japan | 6 | 7 | 7 | 20 |
| 3 | South Korea | 4 | 3 | 7 | 14 |
| 4 | Kazakhstan | 4 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| 5 | Thailand | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 6 | Myanmar | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 7 | Macao, China | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 | Kuwait | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 9 | Chinese Taipei | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 10 | India | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
