Asian Games 2026 Day 9 wrap | From Ancy to Anahat, Sarvesh to Parul: India’s silver linings and near misses

India came close to adding another gold medal to its Asian Games tally on Sunday, with Ancy Sojan and Sarvesh Kushare leading their respective finals for extended periods before finishing with silver. Parul Chaudhary and Harita Bhadra also secured bronze medals, making it a productive day for India in athletics.

Ancy Sojan misses gold by two centimetres

Ancy Sojan appeared to be on course for gold in the women’s long jump after producing a best effort of 6.53m on her fifth attempt. However, China’s Huang Yingying responded with a 6.55m effort to move into first place with her final attempt. The two-centimetre difference left Ancy with the silver medal. India’s Shaili Singh also came agonisingly close to the podium. Her best jump of 6.42m had placed her in medal contention, but China’s Mengyi Tan moved ahead with a 6.46m effort to claim bronze.

Sarvesh Kushare takes high jump silver

Sarvesh Kushare was also in gold-medal contention for much of the men’s high jump final before Chinese Taipei’s Chao Hsuan-Fu moved ahead. Both athletes cleared 2.25m, but Kushare’s first-attempt failure at the height proved decisive. Chao cleared 2.25m on his first attempt, while Kushare managed it on his second. As a result, Kushare had to settle for silver despite clearing the same height as the champion.

Parul Chaudhary, Harita Bhadra add bronze medals

Parul Chaudhary secured her second consecutive Asian Games bronze in the women’s 3000m steeplechase, improving on her previous performance with a personal best of 9:08.67. Bahrain’s Winfred Yavi won gold, while Kazakhstan’s Norah Jeruto Tanui took silver in 9:06.82. Harita Bhadra added another athletics medal for India by finishing third in the women’s 200m final in 23.20 seconds. Singapore’s Shanti Pereira won gold with a season-best 22.78 seconds, while China’s Chen Yujie took silver in 22.93 seconds. Harita finished just ahead of Japan’s Ido Abigeirufuka, who clocked 23.21 seconds. India’s Unnathi Aiyappa Bolland finished sixth in 23.48 seconds. With four medals from athletics, India’s overall tally moved to 37 medals, including four gold and 16 bronze.

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Squash: Two silver medals, but no Olympic berth

India had hoped Anahat Singh and Abhay Singh would secure Olympic berths by winning squash gold, but both players had to settle for silver after straight-game defeats in their respective finals. Abhay Singh, ranked 24th in the world, lost 11-9, 11-5, 11-5 to defending champion Ng Eain Yow in a 44-minute final. After a closely fought opening game, the Malaysian took control of the pace and length of rallies, repeatedly forcing Abhay into difficult retrievals.

Abhay admitted that the Malaysian’s experience in major matches made a difference and said he would return to the drawing board, while also stressing that another route to Olympic qualification remains available. Anahat Singh, 18, also finished with silver after losing 4-11, 4-11, 7-11 to Malaysia’s world no. 5 and defending champion Sivasangari Subramaniam in 27 minutes.

The results extended India’s wait for an individual Asian Games squash gold. Saurav Ghosal had also won silver at the 2014 and 2023 editions.

Boxing assures India of three more medals

Indian boxing continued its strong run, with Parveen Hooda, Ankush Panghal and Narender Berwal advancing to the semifinals and assuring India of three additional medals. Parveen defeated Uzbekistan’s world championships silver medallist Navbakhor Khamidova 5-0 in the women’s 65kg quarterfinal. It was her first bout of the Games after receiving a walkover in the previous round. Parveen has moved up from 57kg to 65kg following a 22-month suspension imposed by the International Testing Agency for a whereabouts failure. She said she was gradually rebuilding her confidence after her long absence.

Ankush, making his Asian Games debut after winning Commonwealth Games gold last month in Glasgow, also recorded a 5-0 victory over Tajikistan’s Nekruz Salimov in the men’s 80kg quarterfinal. Narender, a bronze medallist at the previous Asian Games, needed less than two minutes to progress in the +90kg category after a referee stoppage against Thailand’s Adthapong Saengtep. The Indian heavyweight’s sustained attack resulted in three standing counts before the contest was stopped. However, Commonwealth Games champion Sachin Siwach was eliminated in the men’s 60kg quarterfinal after losing 0-5 to Japan’s Shunsuke Kitamoto.

India’s individual badminton campaign ends

India’s individual badminton campaign ended without a medal after PV Sindhu and Unnati Hooda were eliminated in their respective women’s singles quarterfinals. Sindhu lost to Olympic champion Chen Yu Fei 21-11, 18-21, 10-21 after playing her third match in less than 24 hours. Nineteen-year-old Unnati Hooda also put up a strong fight but lost 16-21, 21-14, 17-21 to three-time world champion Akane Yamaguchi.

Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, along with the mixed doubles pair of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto, also suffered quarterfinal defeats. India had won three badminton medals at Hangzhou, but this time the men’s team bronze was the country’s only medal from the competition, with none of the individual players or pairs progressing to the semifinals.

Indian women’s hockey team reaches semifinals

The Indian women’s hockey team maintained its unbeaten record with a dominant 7-0 win over Singapore. The result helped India finish at the top of Pool B after five wins and secure a place in the semifinals, where the team will face Korea.