Asian Games 2026 LIVE Day 8: Sawan, women shooters fire twin silver; Squash pair settles for bronze, Lakshya Sen out

Manush Shah’s men’s singles campaign comes to an end after a 0-4 defeat to China’s Lin Shidong. The Indian was beaten 4-11, 4-11 in the opening two games but fought back in the third, only to lose 9-11. Manush then appeared set to take the fourth after opening up a 10-5 lead, but Lin produced seven points in a row to seal the match 12-10.

A heartbreaking finish for Joshna Chinappa and Velavan Senthilkumar as they lose the decider 10-11 against Hong Kong’s Tang Ming Hong and Lee Ka Yi. With the game tied at 10-10, a mistake from Chinappa handed Hong Kong the decisive point, ending India’s run after a thrilling semifinal. Bronze for India in mixed doubles!

Finally, some positive for India in badminton! After Satwik-Chirag's shocking exit last evening and Lakshya Sen's in men's singles today, Unnati offers a glimmer of hope to India. She takes the first game against Malaysia's Ling Ching Wong 21-13. Can she maintain the momentum?

Joshna Chinappa and Velavan Senthilkumar have bounced back brilliantly, winning the second game 11-2 against Hong Kong’s Tang Ming Hong and Lee Ka Yi. The Indian pair level the semifinal and force a decider.

Joshna Chinappa and Velavan Senthilkumar have lost a closely fought opening game 10-11 against Hong Kong’s Tang Ming Hong and Lee Ka Yi in the mixed doubles semifinal. India were right in the contest but could not close it out.

Tejaswin Shankar finishes the shot put with a best effort of 13.16m, earning 677 points and taking his overall tally to 2,484. He is third in the decathlon, just four points behind Japan’s Yuma Maruyama and 40 behind leader Chen Xinghua of China.

Animesh Kujur has made a strong start in the men’s 200m, winning his heat in 21.10 seconds. The Indian sprinter comfortably books his place in the semifinal.

The mixed doubles squash semifinal is underway, with Joshna Chinappa and Velavan Senthilkumar facing Hong Kong’s Tang Ming Hong and Lee Ka Yi. The contest is tightly poised at 6-6 in the opening game.

A bright start for India in archery as Chikitha Taniparthi topped the women’s compound qualification with 705 out of 720 to become the top seed. Jyothi Surekha Vennam finished 13th with 699, while Prithika Pradeep was 23rd with 695. In men’s recurve, Dhiraj Bommadevara topped qualifying with a Games record 698, also setting a new national record. Neeraj Chauhan finished 20th and Yashdeep 25th. India will enter the men’s team knockout as the third seeds, while Dhiraj is the top seed in the individual event.

India’s men’s sabre team bowed out in the quarterfinal after a 25-45 defeat to defending champions South Korea. Karan Singh, GN Kumaresan and Vishal Thapar struggled to match the Koreans’ intensity as their Asian Games campaign came to an end.

At 18, Tilottama Sen has already experienced the microcosm of an athlete’s life. Having missed the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games after finishing third in the selection trials, she bounced back with silver at the Asian Championships that year, securing a 10m air rifle quota for the Paris Olympics. She missed out on Paris too, despite having won the quota (it belongs to the country). (Know more about the silver medalist here)

Ashi Chouksey, Vidarsa Vinod and Tilottama Sen have secured a silver medal for India in the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions team event, delivering a strong performance to finish on the podium.

Tejaswin Shankar has moved into second place in the decathlon shot put standings after registering a 13.16m throw on his first attempt. He will need to maintain his momentum in the remaining events as he continues his push for a podium finish. (Know more about Tejaswin here)

India will have two shooters in the final of the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions, with Tilottama Sen and Vidarsa Vinod securing qualification in third and sixth place, respectively. Tilottama finished with 590 points after scoring 97 and 98 in the standing series, trailing the two Chinese shooters on 594 and 591. Vidarsa produced two excellent 98s in standing to finish on 588, making a strong recovery after scoring 193 in kneeling.

Esports action is underway for India on Day 8, with Paritosh taking on South Korea’s Dongshin Kang in the quarterfinal of the Puyo Puyo Champions event. The Indian will be looking to secure a place in the semifinals.

The Indian trio have produced an impressive showing in the prone stage of the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions qualification. Ashi Chouksey and Vidarsa Vinod both posted 199, while Tilottama Sen finished the stage with 198.

Ashi is currently second overall, with the X count separating her from Tilottama, while Vidarsa has surged into 12th after starting the stage in the mid-20s. The shooters now move into the crucial standing series, which will decide the individual finalists and contribute to the team medal standings. India are currently second behind China.

Tejaswin Shankar has moved into second place overall in the decathlon after his long jump. The Indian improved to 7.53m with his second attempt, earning 942 points and taking his overall tally to 1,807 points. He could not better that mark on his final attempt.

That's an end to her campaign! Yashaswini Ghorpade loses to world No 3 Miwa Harimoto of Japan 1-4 (9-11, 5-11, 11-4, 4-11, 5-11) in round 3 women's singles. So only one Indian paddler is left across categories: Manush Shah wins men's singles, and he will face China’s Lin Shidong in the round of 16 at 8:45 a.m. IST today.

Lakshya Sen has been knocked out of the men’s singles event after losing the decider 14-21 to Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew. After fighting back to level the match, Lakshya could not maintain the momentum in the third game and exits in the second round.

Lakshya Sen has bounced back strongly against Loh Kean Yew, taking the second game 21-15 to force a decider. The Indian stayed in the contest through a tight start before stepping up his attacking game and closing out the game convincingly.

In the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions qualification, the kneeling series is now complete. Tilottama Sen is third with 197 points, while Ashi Chouksey is sixth with 196. Vidarsa Vinod has struggled in this position and sits behind with 193 points.

First for India in 44 years

Barwal's silver-medal haul is India's first medal in marathon in 44 years and third overall.

Here’s a list of India’s marathon medallists at Asian Games

1951: Chhota Singh — Gold (2:42:58.6 s)

1951:Surat Singh Mathur — Bronze (2:53:49.8 s)

1982: Hosur Kukkappa Seetharan — Bronze (2:25:07 s)

Lakshya Sen has lost the first game 12-21 against Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew. The Indian made a strong start and raced to a 5-1 lead, but Loh gradually took control and pulled away to win the opening game.

Sawan Barwal has started India’s Day 8 with a historic silver medal in the men’s marathon. He clocked 2:11:37, finishing 48 seconds behind gold medallist Yamashita, who recorded 2:10:49.

Tejaswin Shankar finishes third in Heat 2 of the men’s 100m, the opening event of the decathlon. The Indian athlete gets his campaign underway with a third-place finish as he looks to build a strong total across the 10 events.