Surfeit of silver paints a picture of ‘what could have been’ for India at Asiad - The Indian Express

Day 1: A 10.4 and 10.1 from Elavenil Valarivan on her last two shots of the 10m air rifle erased the Indian’s handy 1.5 lead, to see the first gold missed by India at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

What gets lost in the lament over the 27 silvers is acknowledgement that Japan’s Hinata Taichi shot 10.6 and 10.2 to snatch that gold – coming out of the blue, given Japan didn’t have a single medal in this event since 1994.

India finished tied on gold with Uzbekistan at 21, and only a last-day scramble helped push it up, with two extra silvers giving it fourth place. But all those silvers were gold medals lost.

Accepting that even India’s best-ever showing in women’s air rifle, Elavenil’s silver, might not be good enough for gold is central to understanding why the country was stuck at just four the first week, reaching double digits (10) only on the 11th day of the Games.

The ultimate tally of 21 was seven off the 2023 Asiad with 28 gold, while total medal haul was 21 less than the 106 at Hangzhou.

The drop has come in several sports: Shooting (22 to 15; 4 golds less), Athletics (29 to 24; 5 gold less), Tennis (2 to 0; 1 gold less), Badminton (3 to 1; 1 gold less); Rowing (6 to 1); Equestrian (2 to 0; 1 gold less).

While archery made fantastic gains in recurve, its total count stayed constant at nine from 2023, with five gold medals, the same as last time. Squash retained its five medals, but with a significant drop of two gold.

Wrestling has maintained its count of six. While men added two gold to the nil last time, and won five of the six Indian medals, women’s wrestling dropped from three last time to the one silver upgrade of Antim Panghal. Sujeet Kalkal and Aman Sehrawat will be expected to carry the momentum to Los Angeles.

Boxing made real gains, going up from five to six medals – and significantly three gold from none last time.

The golf gold for Pranavi Urs is an uptick, as is the women’s team silver.

However, a few medal drops are worrying. In badminton, Lakshya Sen could not defend HS Prannoy bronze while Ayush Shetty had a poor Games. Asiad medals are toughest in badminton, and Satwik-Chirag gold was missing in the 2026 tally.

Shooting sent a star-studded women’s air pistol troika, but a medal was nowhere in sight after poor qualifications. While Suruchi Phogat salvaged matters with a strong comeback for the Mixed Team gold and Esha Singh fought four shoot-offs to take sports pistol silver, individual golds were out of reach till Neeru Dhanda won in trap. India had regressed in 50m 3 position since the Paris Olympics, with two silvers in the event, while they had won two gold in Hangzhou, among other medals.

Parul Chaudhary recorded her Personal Best (PB) in 5,000m to take a second bronze. Steeplechaser Avinash Sable, defending a gold medal, did his season’s best but missed a medal by four seconds to finish fourth. The next rung in steeplechase isn’t on the horizon.

Other freakish circumstances struck. Murali Sreesankar, looking to upgrade his silver, slipped on the takeoff on his fourth attempt and was in no position to contend for gold. Two Chinese did their best in their fifth attempt to leapfrog Ancy Sojan in the long jump. The Indian could not summon a 6.60 jump, though her best this season is a national record. Hurdler Jyothi Yarraji, triple jumper Praveen Chitravel and decathlete Thowfeeq Noushad couldn’t register a mark to be in contention in their events.

While AFI president Adille Sumariwala had stressed that the athletes would peak at the Asiad, the periodisation seemed to have gone awry as the push for the Commonwealth Games disrupted fitness for Asiad, including taking Neeraj Chopra out of contention. The two big events within two months of each other also saw some athletes bomb at both places.

The rowing federation switched up combinations two days before the race, after crews had trained together for four years. They got an Australian expert to convey the news, and he didn’t explain why his plan for gold didn’t come through, or why the rowers were not kept in the loop. No gold fetched up either; it was chaos injected into an erstwhile well-oiled unit.

Equestrian was blighted by contested selections. A gold and bronze from Hangzhou got casually tossed out, finishing at zero.

Some losses are nuanced – could Gulveer Singh have focused on one event and gone all out for gold, instead of four races in five days, finishing with two silver and one bronze? Are double-starters in shooting (those who are fielded in two events) costing India gold?

Track and field athletes scored 11 personal bests, nine silvers and three season’s bests. But the net result was one gold. It proves both that the competition has levelled up and Indians, even at their best, are only playing catch-up.

Shivani Naik is a senior sports journalist and Assistant Editor at The Indian Express. She is widely considered one of the leading voices in Indian Olympic sports journalism, particularly known for her deep expertise in badminton, wrestling, and basketball. Professional Profile Role: Assistant Editor and Columnist at The Indian Express. Specialization: While she covers a variety of sports, she is the primary authority on badminton for the publication. She also writes extensively about tennis, track and field, wrestling, and gymnastics. Writing Style: Her work is characterized by "technical storytelling"—breaking down the biomechanics, tactics, and psychological grit of athletes. She often provides "long reads" that explore the personal journeys of athletes beyond the podium. Key Topics & Recent Coverage (Late 2025) Shivani Naik’s recent articles (as of December 2025) focus on the evolving landscape of Indian sports as athletes prepare for the 2026 Asian Games and beyond: Indian Badminton's "Hulks": She has recently written about a new generation of Indian shuttlers characterized by power and physicality, such as Ayush Shetty and Sathish Karunakaran, marking a shift from the traditionally finesse-based Indian style. PV Sindhu’s Resurgence: A significant portion of her late-2025 work tracks PV Sindhu’s tactical shifts under new coaching, focusing on her "sparkle" and technical tweaks to break out of career slumps. The "Group of Death": In December 2025, she provided detailed tactical previews for Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty’s campaign in the BWF World Tour Finals. Tactical Deep Dives: She frequently explores technical trends, such as the rise of "backhand deception" in modern badminton and the importance of court drift management in international arenas. Legacy and History: She often revisits the careers of legends like Saina Nehwal and Syed Modi, providing historical context to current Indian successes. Notable Recent Articles BWF World Tour Finals: Satwik-Chirag have it all to do to get through proverbial Group of Death. (Dec 2025) The age of Hulks in Indian badminton is here. (Dec 2025) Treadmill, Yoganidra and building endurance: The themes that defined the resurgence of Gayatri and Treesa. (Dec 2025) Ayush Shetty beats Kodai Naraoka: Will 20-year-old be the headline act in 2026? (Nov 2025) Modern Cinderella tale – featuring An Se-young and a shoe that fits snugly. (Nov 2025) Other Sports Interests Beyond the court, Shivani is a passionate follower of South African cricket, sometimes writing emotional columns about her irrational support for the Proteas, which started because of love for Graeme Smith's dour and doughty Test playing style despite being a left-hander, and sustained over curiosity over their heartbreaking habit of losing ICC knockouts. You can follow her detailed analysis and columns on her official Indian Express profile page. ... Read More