India, Oct. 4 -- The closing ceremony at the Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium is still to come, with double gold medallist Neeru Dhanda set to be India's flag bearer. But India's campaign at the 2026 Asian Games wrapped up on Saturday with a late gold rush in archery, wrestling and hockey.

India had sent 495 athletes to Aichi-Nagoya, who gave their all - physically and mentally - across 36 sporting disciplines over 15 days. The contingent returned with 85 medals - 21 gold, 27 silver and 37 bronze - recording the nation's second-best performance at the Games.

India's best-ever performance came at the Hangzhou Games in 2023, when it won 18 more medals, including seven more golds. On paper, that might paint a grim picture for India...