India enjoyed another action-packed day at the Asian Games 2026 on Thursday, with the men's hockey and cricket teams reaching their respective finals.
India's men's hockey team defeated their arch-rivals Pakistan 4-3 in a thrilling semifinal, while the cricket team thrashed Sri Lanka by 124 runs to book a place in the gold-medal match.
India also added a silver medal in sailing, while Ganesh Mani Ratnam Thirumuru won bronze in individual compound archery. The men's and women's squash teams, however, settled for bronze after suffering semifinal defeats.
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India Beat Pakistan In Hockey Thriller
The Indian men's hockey team produced a dramatic 4-3 victory over Pakistan in the semifinal. India raced to a 3-0 lead before Pakistan mounted a strong comeback to level the score. With less than a minute remaining, Abhishek scored the decisive goal after his effort took a deflection off Pakistan defender Sufiyan Khan's stick. The goal, which came with 49.2 seconds left on the clock, sent India into the final.
Captain Harmanpreet Singh scored twice for India, while Abhishek also found the net as the defending champions kept their gold-medal defence alive. India will now face the winner of the second semifinal between Malaysia and South Korea in the final.
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India Storm Into Cricket Final
India's men's cricket team also secured its place in the Asian Games final with a commanding 124-run victory over Sri Lanka.
Batting first, India posted 169/6, with Ishan Kishan top-scoring with an unbeaten 80 off 46 balls. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi also impressed on his Asian Games debut, scoring 38 off 21 deliveries.
India's bowlers then dismantled the Sri Lankan batting line-up. Jasprit Bumrah struck twice in the opening over, while India eventually bowled Sri Lanka out for just 45 in 9.5 overs. The 124-run win sent India into the gold-medal match, where they will face Pakistan on October 3.
India Win Sailing Silver
Manu Francis and Prince Noble secured India's first sailing medal of the Asian Games 2026.
The Indian pair won silver in the men's skiff event in the 49er class after finishing second behind China following nine races. Hong Kong, China won the bronze medal.
The result took India's overall medal tally to 62 at the time of the update.
Ganesh Mani Ratnam Wins Archery Bronze
Ganesh Mani Ratnam Thirumuru added another medal for India by winning bronze in the men's individual compound archery event.
The 20-year-old defeated Vietnam's Cong Duc Dang 149-144 in the bronze-medal match. Ganesh had earlier beaten Chinese Taipei's Chen Chieh-lun in the quarterfinal before losing to South Korea's Kim Jongho in the semifinal.
The bronze was his second medal of the Games after he was part of India's gold-winning men's compound team.
India's Squash Teams Settle For Bronze
India's men's and women's squash teams both settled for bronze medals after losing their respective semifinals.
The men's team went down 1-2 to Malaysia. Abhay Singh lost 0-3 to Eain Yow Ng before Veer Chotrani levelled the tie with a 3-0 win over Jeeva Sanjay.
Velavan Senthilkumar then lost the deciding match to Ameeshenraj Chandaran, who won 10-12, 11-6, 11-8, 11-9 to send Malaysia into the final.
The women's team also suffered a 1-2 defeat to Hong Kong, China. Anahat Singh narrowly lost to Sin Yuk Chan despite having four match points, while Tanvi Khanna beat Ka Yi Lee to level the tie. Veteran Joshna Chinappa then lost the deciding match against Ho Tze Lok, confirming India's bronze medal.
Nitesh Siwach Clinches Silver Medal In Men's Greco-Roman 97kg
India's Nitesh Siwach etched his name in the history books by winning the silver medal in the men's 97kg Greco-Roman wrestling event at the Asian Games. He lost 0-4 to Japan's Yuri Nakazato in the final.
Nitesh had advanced to the final after defeating Mongolia's Gankhuyag Ganbaatar 9-0 in the semifinal.
Mansi, meanwhile, lost her women's 62kg semifinal against Japan's two-time world champion Nonoka Ozaki. She later went on to win her bronze-medal bout.
India's Volleyball Campaign Ends
India's men's volleyball team suffered a defeat to Pakistan in the quarterfinal and was knocked out of medal contention.
The result ended India's hopes of securing a podium finish in the event at the Asian Games.
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