Published: September 30, 2026 at 6:42 pm
In any multi-discipline sports event, the track and field competitions are considered to be the most glamorous of the lot. But at the ongoing 2026 Asian Games in Japan, Indian athletes put up a disappointing show. After the athletics events concluded, India bagged only one gold, 9 silver and 14 bronze medals to end up with a total of 24 medals. Contrast this with the 6 golds, 14 silver and 9 bronze medals won by India at the previous edition in 2022 – and the sorry picture is complete.
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So, what went wrong for India this time? For starters, there was a spate of injuries to our leading stars. Neeraj Chopra didn’t travel to Japan because he was injured. That itself was India’s biggest setback. Although, after the meteoric rise of Rumesh Pathirage of Sri Lanka, it could not be said that a gold medal was assured for Neeraj, but he was one of our most outstanding assets.
Jyothi Yarraji did not even run in the Asian Games
Another strong medal prospect, hurdler Jyothi Yarraji, withdrew from the competition due to a knee stress after warm up. The Andhra Pradesh athlete had won silver in the previous edition of the Asiad and was widely expected to get a gold or silver in Japan. But she did not even run. Before the start of the games, her recent timings were better than those of her leading rivals and it was widely expected that she may win the gold.
Jyothi Yarraji of Andhra Pradesh had won silver in the previous edition of the Asiad and was widely expected to get a gold or silver in Japan
It is suspected that the 27-year-old was carrying an injury heading into the Games. So why was she even included in the squad? The incident raised a storm and the athletics federation released a statement that the matter will be looked into.
Praveen withdrew after first round
Another athlete who pulled out of the competition (but after completing the first round) was Praveen Chithravel. The Tamil Nadu triple jumper has represented India at multiple international events, earning a bronze medal at the 2022 Asian Games, as well as silver medals at the 2025 Asian Championships. He also represented India at the 2024 Summer Olympics. So here was a top-level athlete who also seemed to be carrying an injury.
India women’s 4x400m relay team ends gold wait; Gulveer Singh completes hat-trick
Then, in the men’s 400 mts hurdles, Yashas Palaksha’s withdrawal added to India’s injured list in Japan. The hurdler stopped before the first hurdle after appearing to suffer a hamstring injury and was marked DNF (did not finish). The setback came a day after Jyothi Yarraji and Praveen Chithravel also pulled out of their events.
Murali Sreeshankar battled an ankle injury during the final that prevented him from taking his last two jumps. However, he managed to secure a silver medal
Steeplechaser Avinash Sable clocked his season’s best time of 8m 21.67s but finished 4th. It was far below his best-ever time of 8:9.91 perhaps because he too was just recovering from injury. The gold went to Japan’s Ryuji Miura with a time of 8:17.36.
Long jumper Murali Sreeshankar battled an ankle injury during the final that prevented him from taking his last two jumps. However, he managed to secure a silver medal. The distance Sreeshankar recorded was 8.07 mts which was well below his career-best of 8.41. If he had gone closer to his best, he may have got the gold. Because the winner, China’s Shi Yuhao, registered only 8.17 mts.
What was the AFI doing?
Even if we concede that Sreeshankar got injured on the spot, what about the others who seemed to have been sent to the Games even though they had previous injuries? The million-dollar question that arises from these incidents is what was the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) doing?
Ancy Sojan had to settle for a silver even though she was leading the pack for quite some time
Does the AFI not know what is happening in its own backyard? These athletes train every day in India, their performances are closely monitored and if they were already injured before the games began, why is AFI in the dark? Or is it pretending to be in the dark?
According to a statement, Jyothi Yarraji, Avinash Sable, and Praveen Chithravel were sent to the Asian Games 2026 because medical evaluations cleared them as “fit to compete” after recovering from previous injuries. Now it is clear that the concerned athletes were far from being fit enough. So, which people are on the panel of medical experts who ruled them to be fit? The whole episode needs to be investigated by an independent body. Those who were guilty of wasting taxpayers’ money must be penalised.
Several athletes tried but failed to reach the top
Then, in many cases, a number of Indian athletes reached the podium but fell short of the top spot. Tajinderpal Singh Toor was one such athlete. The burly policeman has done splendidly for India on earlier occasions. He won successive gold medals in the previous two Asian Games but this time he fell short of the gold by logging a distance of 20.64 mts. He tried his best but had to be satisfied with a silver.
Then, in many cases, a number of Indian athletes reached the podium but fell short of the top spot. Tajinderpal Singh Toor was one such athlete
The gold medal went to Mohammed Reza Tayyebi of Iran who landed the iron ball at 20.81 mts which was a new Games Record. The previous record was held by Tajinderpal Toor at 20.75 mts. So, the giant Indian would have had to eclipse his own mark (set in 2018) in order to get the gold. Now aged 31, Toor would find it hard to replicate what he had achieved 8 years ago.
Gulveer missed gold in 1500m
Runner Gulveer Singh also deserves praise. With little luck he could have bagged a gold in the 1500m. He was only 0.37 seconds behind the winner Kazuto Izawa of Japan. Gulveer Singh won three medals (two silver, one bronze) at the Asian Games. Despite running four demanding races in five days (1500m, 5000m, 10000m), he successfully secured medals in all three events. Before him, PT Usha (Seoul 1986 – 4 medals) and KM Beenamol (Busan 2002 – 3 medals) had achieved similar feats.
Despite running four demanding races in five days (1500m, 5000m, 10000m), Gulveer Singh successfully secured medals in all three events. Before him, PT Usha (Seoul 1986 – 4 medals) and KM Beenamol (Busan 2002 – 3 medals) had achieved similar feats. Pics: X
Others who were worthy of commendations were high jumper Sarvesh Kushare and woman long jumper Ancy Sojan Edappilly. Although they were occupying first spot for much of their respective events, eventually they had to settle for the silver medal. Parul Chaudhary broke the national record on her way to bronze in the women’s 3000m steeplechase, while Tejaswin Shankar and Harita Bhadra added bronze medals in the decathlon and women’s 200m, respectively.
Women’s relay squad provided the silver lining with a golden run
Now to come to the silver lining. Four intrepid girls, namely Kiran Pahal, Prachi Choudhary, M. R. Poovamma and Vithya Ramraj lifted the pall of gloom by bagging India’s only athletics gold at the 2026 Asian Games. In the last edition in Hangzhou, China had beaten India to gold, but this quartet proved why Indian women remain favourites with a seventh gold in the 4x400m relay at the Asian Games.
The Indian athletes clocked 3:29.69 to beat Bahrain which had Olympic medallist Salwa Eid Naser in the line-up. Bahrain took silver in 3:30.21 and China claimed bronze in 3:31.02. It was India’s sixth Asian Games women’s 4x400m relay title. The Indian women had won the event at five consecutive editions from Busan 2002 to Jakarta 2018 before finishing runners-up at Hangzhou 2023.
Machettira Poovamma, Vishal Thennarasu, Vithya Ramraj and Thekkinalil Manu clocked 3:14.46 to secure the silver medal in the mixed 4x400m relay final
The gold capped a memorable personal campaign for Vithya, who had broken PT Usha’s 42-year-old national record in the women’s 400m hurdles a day earlier. So, after many days of waiting, the tricolour was finally hoisted on the central flagpole and the Jana Gana Mana rang out in victory throughout the stadium.
India won medals in four of the five relay events they contested at Aichi-Nagoya. Besides the women’s 4x400m gold and men’s 4x400m bronze, India won silver in the mixed 4x400m and bronze in the mixed 4x100m. The women’s 4x100m team finished fourth.
Machettira Poovamma, Vishal Thennarasu, Vithya Ramraj and Thekkinalil Manu clocked 3:14.46 to secure the silver medal in the mixed 4x400m relay final. Vishal TK, Dharmveer Choudhary, T Manu, Jay Kumar won bronze in the men’s 4x400m relay, while Gurindervir Singh, Sneha Sathyanarayana, Animesh Kujur, Harita Bhadra won the bronze in the 4x100m mixed relay.
