Indian sailors Manu Francis and Prince Noble won the silver medal in the men's skiff event at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya on Thursday, taking India's overall medal tally to 62.
Competing in the 49er class, the Indian pair finished second behind China after nine races, collecting 23 points. Hong Kong took the bronze medal.
Manu and Prince produced a consistent performance throughout the event and also won one of the nine races.
The silver was India's first medal in sailing at the ongoing Asian Games. It also took India's overall medal tally in sailing at the Asian Games to 24, comprising one gold, nine silver and 14 bronze medals.
India's only sailing gold at the Asian Games came at the 1982 New Delhi edition, when Farokh Tarapore and Zarir Karanjia finished at the top of the podium.
From Kerala To The Asian Games Podium
The silver medal is another big step forward for Manu Francis and Prince Noble in their progression through the 49er class.
The two sailors are also cousins and childhood friends from Kerala. SAI Media says they started sailing at the grassroots level, then trained at the National Sailing School in Bhopal and the Muziris Yachting Club.
They later joined the Indian Army and proceeded with their training at the Army Yachting Node.
Earlier, the pair bagged bronze medals at the 2022 Asian Sailing Championship in Abu Dhabi and the 2023 Asian Sailing Championships in Pattaya, Thailand.
They also finished first in the Yachting Association of India's second Asian Games selection trial in Mumbai in January this year.
India Add More Medals Across Disciplines
India are enjoying another busy day across several sports at the Asian Games.
In wrestling, Nitesh Siwach reached the men's Greco-Roman 97kg final after defeating Mongolia's Gankhuyag Ganbaatar 9-0. Nitesh, who won a silver medal at the Asian Championships earlier this year, will now fight for gold against either Iran's Mehdi Balihamzehdeh or Japan's Yuri Nakazato.
Mansi, meanwhile, lost 0-6 to Japan's two-time world champion Nonoka Ozaki in the women's 62kg semifinal. She will now compete for a bronze medal.
India's women's squash team also secured a bronze medal after losing 1-2 to Hong Kong in the semifinal.
The men's sepaktakraw team confirmed a medal after beating Vietnam 2-0 in their Group A quadrant match.
Mixed Results In Archery And Judo
In archery, Ganesh Mani Ratnam Thirumuru clinched the bronze medal in the men's individual compound event after defeating Vietnam's Cong Duc Dang 149-144.
Chikitha Taniparthi, however, bowed out of the women's individual event after losing a close quarterfinal to Indonesia's Nurisa Dian Ashrifah. The Indian lost 143-144.
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In judo, Yamini Mourya lost to reigning Junior World Champion Mio Shirakane in the repechage bout of Women's 57kg and will bow out of the competition without any medal; she had won a silver medal in Glasgow CWG last month.
With the sailing silver, India had 62 medals at the Aichi-Nagoya Games at the time of writing, comprising 10 gold, 21 silver and 31 bronze.
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