India enjoyed a landmark day at the 2026 Asian Games in Nagoya on Friday, September 25, as athletics delivered three medals, highlighted by a historic breakthrough in the pole vault.
The 29-year-old shared the third step of the podium with Kazakhstan’s Polina Ivanova at the Paloma Mizuho athletics stadium. While the height was not a personal best for Elangovan, the achievement marked a significant milestone for
Gulveer Singh and Manpreet Kaur add to India's medal tally
The day’s success was bolstered by consistent performers Gulveer Singh and Manpreet Kaur. Gulveer, 28, continued his impressive run in long-distance events by clinching the silver medal in the 10,000m with a time of 28:29.38s. This performance represents a notable improvement for the athlete, who had previously secured bronze in the same event three years ago. With his campaign in Nagoya ongoing, Gulveer is expected to feature in the 1500m heats on Saturday, followed by the 5000m.
In the field events, Manpreet Kaur added a bronze medal to India’s total in the shot put. She produced a best throw of 17.17m during her fourth attempt, finishing behind the gold and silver medalists from China, Song Jiayuan (19.40m) and Zhang Linru (18.14m). Krishna Jayasankar also competed in the event, finishing in fifth place with a best effort of 16.57m.
Mixed results across track and field events
Elsewhere in the stadium, the men’s 100m saw both Indian representatives, Gurindervir Singh and Animesh Kujur, exit the competition during the semifinal stage after clocking 10.32s and 10.38s respectively. The event was dominated by Thailand’s Puripol Boonson, who set a new Games record of 9.90s to take the title. In the women’s heptathlon, Pooja finished in sixth place with 5,368 points, while Anamika A.K. placed eighth with 5,234 points.
The hammer throw saw Damneet Singh finish ninth with a distance of 67.56m, while Praveen Kumar placed 11th with 65.24m. Despite some setbacks, there was positive news on the track as Kiran Pahal (53.44s) and Prachi (53.46s) successfully advanced to the final of the women’s 400m. Vishal T.K. also secured his place in the men’s 400m final after clocking 45.27s.
