New Delhi, Oct. 10 -- Athletes from the Indian Army put forth their best-ever display at the Asian Games 2026 with their haul of 20 medals, comprising six gold, eight silver and six bronze medals, helping the Indian team to win almost a quarter of its medals. The 62-member strong Army team, participating in 15 events, bagged 20 out of India's 85 medals and six of India's 21 gold medals.
Participation of the Army in the Indian team increased from nine per cent in the 2022 Games to 12.6 per cent at Asian Games 2026. Some of the notable performances include two gold and one silver by Nb Sub Neeru Dhanda, and two silver and one bronze medal by Nb Sub Gulveer Singh. Dhanda became the first Indian woman to win Asian Games gold in women's trap shooting. Athletes from the Army have set national and Games records in athletics, archery, and shooting events.
Hav Sawan Barwal set a national record in men's marathon with a timing of 2:11:37, and Sub Dhiraj Bommadevara achieved 698/720 in men's recurve archery. Additionally, the team managed to end the long periods of non-medals in their respective events, where Barwal got India's first medal in men's marathon for the Asian Games in 44 years, and Nb Sub Sarvesh Kushare bagged a medal in men's high jump after 56 years. The performance writes down the increasing role of the Army in the sports domain in India through specialised training and coaching.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.