Live, September 22: India eye shooting medals, big games in badminton, hockey

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of India's campaign at the Asian Games for Tuesday, September 22.

Aadhya Tiwari and Jay Meena produced a sensational performance during the mixed doubles on September 21 but exited in the round of 16. With the singles underway, Aadhya will certainly look to go the distance as she faces off against Aliesha Ziegler of Thailand. Jay Meena will face Hussain Arain of Pakistan at 7 am and Aryan Thakur will lock horns with Bold-erdene Altangerel of Mongolia.

Esports has been gaining popularity all around the globe and India will certainly be looking to leave their mark on the sport at Asian Games 2026.

We will be starting with eFootball as Danial Shakeel Patel and Chinmay Sahoo enter the stage, hoping for a win against Uzbekistan's Abubakir Iminjonov and Farrukh Mirkhamitov.

India’s women are just one win away from defending their Asian Games cricket title, but the final hurdle is a familiar one.

Sri Lanka stand between India and another gold medal on Tuesday, setting up yet another high-stakes meeting between two sides that have repeatedly crossed paths when major trophies are on the line.

India have barely put a foot wrong in Aichi-Nagoya. After comfortably beating Japan, they followed it up with an even more dominant win over Bangladesh in the semi-final to book their place in the title clash.

Sri Lanka have also arrived unbeaten. They got past Malaysia in their opening game before pulling off a high-scoring chase against Pakistan in the semi-final, setting up a final between two teams carrying plenty of confidence.

For India and Sri Lanka, though, this is becoming a familiar story.

The two sides have met three times in finals over the past three years across the Asian Games and Women's Asia Cup. Each encounter has added another layer to the rivalry, and now they meet again with the biggest prize of the Aichi-Nagoya campaign at stake.

India will be chasing back-to-back Asian Games gold medals. Sri Lanka, meanwhile, will be looking to spoil those plans and add another chapter to one of the most familiar contests in women's cricket.

India’s men’s and women’s badminton teams face Japan in the quarter-finals on Tuesday, September 22, with a place in the medal rounds at stake in Aichi-Nagoya.

The draw has handed both Indian teams a tough challenge, with hosts Japan standing between them and a guaranteed medal. The women’s team, in particular, will be looking to end a long wait for a podium finish after their bronze in 2014 remains their only medal in the event.

India’s women will begin at 6 am IST after brushing aside Kazakhstan 3-0 in the opening round. Japan, meanwhile, received a bye into the quarter-finals and will enter the tie with a strong squad.

PV Sindhu will be at the heart of India’s challenge. The veteran will pull double duty, featuring in the opening singles match against world No. 3 Akane Yamaguchi before partnering Tanisha Crasto in the second doubles tie.

Sindhu holds a 16-14 head-to-head record against Yamaguchi and won their most recent meeting at the Japan Open in July. A strong start could prove crucial for India, with Unnati Hooda and Tanvi Sharma facing Japan's other singles options, Tomoka Miyazaki and Nozomi Okuhara.

Japan have three players inside the women's singles top 10, while Sindhu is ranked 11th, followed by Unnati at 24th and Tanvi at 26th.

India will also look towards Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly in doubles. The World Championships bronze medallists face world No. 3 Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto in another major test.

For India, the route is clear. Sindhu and the in-form Gayatri-Treesa combination will be expected to deliver, while the remaining ties could require an upset. Victory would send the team into the semi-finals and guarantee India at least a bronze medal.

The men's team will also face Japan in their quarter-final, with India entering the tie as silver medallists from the 2022 Asian Games.

The men's quarterfinals lineups are yet to be announced.

India’s medal tally continued to climb on the second full day of competition at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, but the one colour missing from the collection remained the most important one.

The Indian contingent added four more medals on Monday, September 21, taking its overall tally to six. However, with four silver and two bronze medals in the bag, India was still waiting for its first gold of the Games.

Shooting once again proved to be the biggest source of medals.

Three of India’s four medals came from the range, with former wrestler Himanshu Dhillon producing a memorable performance to claim silver in the men’s 10m air rifle individual event. Rudrankksh Patil added a bronze, while the duo had earlier combined with Parth Rakesh Mane to secure silver in the team competition.

For Dhillon, the medal was particularly significant. The former wrestler had made the switch to shooting and marked his Asian Games debut with a silver medal, adding another chapter to an unusual sporting journey.

India’s other medal of the day came in mixed martial arts, where Suchika Tariyal created history by becoming the country’s first Asian Games medallist in the sport.

But her bronze medal came after one of the most agonising finishes of the day.

Tariyal's semifinal against Singapore's Teo Hui Hoon ended in a draw, forcing the contest to be decided by a weight-based tiebreak. The Indian fighter missed out on a place in the final by just 700 grams, with the narrow defeat leaving her to settle for bronze.

By the end of Day 2, India had six medals and occupied 12th place in the standings. The tally included four silver medals and two bronze, but no gold yet.

That wait has kept India outside the upper reaches of the medal table, with China setting the early pace with 23 gold medals.

For India, the challenge now is not simply to add more medals, but to finally find the one that has remained out of reach through the opening days of the Games.

September 22 could be a defining day for India at the Asian Games, with the women’s cricket team carrying the biggest gold-medal hopes of the day.

The defending champions have made their way into the final after a dominant run through the tournament and will now face Sri Lanka with the gold medal at stake. A victory would not only secure India’s second consecutive Asian Games title in women’s cricket but could also finally put a gold medal on the board for the Indian contingent in Aichi-Nagoya.

There is plenty more at stake across the day, though.

Shooting will provide another strong medal opportunity as Elavenil Valarivan and Parth Rakesh Mane join forces in the 10m air rifle mixed team event. India will also look to Wushu for another potential medal, with Langlentombi Devi Hanjabam competing in the women's Nanquan and Nandao finals.

The badminton courts will also see India in action, with the Indian teams taking on Japan in the quarter-finals. A place in the semi-finals will be up for grabs as the campaign enters a crucial stage.

Beyond those headline events, Indian athletes will be competing across fencing, karate, swimming, boxing, kabaddi and hockey. The men's hockey team will take on Sri Lanka, while India's kabaddi team faces South Korea as both sides continue their respective campaigns.

With several athletes pushing towards the medal rounds, September 22 promises to be one of the busiest days yet for the Indian contingent.

But all eyes will eventually turn towards the cricket ground.

India's women's team has already done the hard work to reach the final. Now, one more win stands between them and another Asian Games gold. More importantly, victory could give India its first gold medal of the Aichi-Nagoya Games and provide the contingent with the breakthrough it has been waiting for.