The Asian Games 2026 Day 5 campaign brought another significant medal haul for India as athletes competed across shooting, weightlifting, soft tennis and several other disciplines in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, on Wednesday, September 23. India entered the day with seven medals and added several more during the day’s events, with Mirabai Chanu’s silver in the women’s 49kg weightlifting category becoming one of the major highlights.
The Asian Games 2026 Day 5 schedule featured several high-profile Indian athletes, including Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker, Esha Singh, Suruchi Singh and Mirabai Chanu. Shooting remained an important medal source for the Indian contingent, while weightlifting provided another major moment with Mirabai finally securing her first Asian Games medal after previous appearances at the continental event.
One of the biggest developments of Asian Games 2026 Day 5 was Mirabai Chanu’s silver medal in the women’s 49kg weightlifting competition. The Olympic silver medallist lifted a combined 198kg, including 87kg in the snatch and 111kg in the clean and jerk, to finish second. The result gave Chanu her first Asian Games medal after missing the podium at her previous appearances.
Mirabai’s achievement during Asian Games 2026 Day 5 also ended India’s long wait for a medal in Asian Games weightlifting. The last Indian weightlifting medal at the event had come in 1998, when Karnam Malleswari won silver. Chanu’s performance therefore marked India’s return to the Asian Games weightlifting podium after 28 years.
The Asian Games 2026 Day 5 shooting competitions also produced medals for India. The women’s skeet team of Raiza Dhillon, Parinaaz Dhaliwal and Maheshwari Chauhan secured a bronze medal, adding another podium finish to India’s growing shooting campaign. Shooting had already contributed multiple medals to India’s tally earlier in the Games.
The men’s skeet team also delivered a bronze medal during Asian Games 2026 Day 5. Anantjeet Singh Naruka, Mairaj Ahmed Khan and Bhavtegh Singh Gill combined to secure third place, with the Indian trio scoring 346 points. Their result gave India another medal from the shooting competition.
Shooting had been India’s strongest medal-producing discipline during the early stages of the Asian Games 2026 Day 5 campaign. Before the skeet results, Indian shooters had already won medals in the men’s and women’s 10m air rifle events. The country’s shooting contingent had contributed silver medals through the women’s 10m air rifle team, Elavenil Valarivan, the men’s 10m air rifle team and Himanshu Dhillon, along with a bronze for Rudrankksh Patil.
The women’s 10m air pistol final was another major focus during Asian Games 2026 Day 5, with Manu Bhaker, Esha Singh and Suruchi Singh representing India. Bhaker reached the final but finished fifth after being eliminated late in the competition. Esha and Suruchi did not secure medals, meaning India finished without a podium result in the women’s 10m air pistol event.
The Asian Games 2026 Day 5 campaign also witnessed a historic moment in soft tennis. Jay Meena won India’s first-ever Asian Games medal in the sport after securing bronze in the men’s singles event. Meena lost his semifinal against Japan’s Takuya Kurosaka but had already secured a podium finish by reaching the last four.
Jay Meena’s bronze added another dimension to the Asian Games 2026 Day 5 medal tally because soft tennis had not previously produced an Asian Games medal for India. His result came as part of a wider day in which Indian athletes reached the podium in multiple sports rather than relying solely on the established shooting and weightlifting disciplines.
The Asian Games 2026 Day 5 medal action followed India’s first gold medal of the Games. The women’s cricket team had defeated Sri Lanka by 147 runs in the final on September 22 to successfully defend its Asian Games title. India therefore began Wednesday’s campaign with one gold already secured.
India’s performance on Asian Games 2026 Day 5 also included action in kabaddi. The women’s team defeated Iran 37-23 in their Group A match, with both teams securing places in the semifinal stage. The Indian men’s kabaddi team was also scheduled to compete later in the day.
Hockey was another major part of the Asian Games 2026 Day 5 schedule. India’s women’s team faced Thailand, while the men’s competition continued as part of the country’s campaign in the Games. Hockey is among the disciplines where India is seeking strong results during the Aichi-Nagoya competition.
The Asian Games 2026 Day 5 schedule was spread across a large number of disciplines, including shooting, weightlifting, badminton, table tennis, fencing, karate, swimming, hockey, kabaddi and soft tennis. The wide-ranging programme meant Indian athletes were competing at multiple venues throughout the day.
India’s medal tally changed several times during Asian Games 2026 Day 5 as events concluded. A midday update placed India at 11 medals — one gold, five silver and five bronze — while later results added another bronze from the men’s badminton team, taking the overall tally to 12 medals: one gold, five silver and six bronze.
The Asian Games 2026 Day 5 medal table also reflected China’s strong early position in the competition. According to the latest available standings, China remained at the top, followed by Japan and South Korea. India was listed eighth after the day’s medal additions in the latest update. Medal standings can change quickly as more events are completed.
The Indian contingent’s progress during Asian Games 2026 Day 5 was particularly notable in shooting. The country had already collected several medals from rifle events before adding the two skeet team bronzes. This has made shooting one of the central contributors to India’s early medal tally at the Aichi-Nagoya Games.
For Mirabai Chanu, the Asian Games 2026 Day 5 result represented the completion of an important part of her international medal collection. She had previously won an Olympic silver medal, a world championship title and Commonwealth Games gold medals, but an Asian Games medal had remained missing from her record. Her silver in Nagoya changed that.
The Asian Games 2026 Day 5 weightlifting result also showed Chanu’s ability to recover from earlier Asian Games disappointment. She had finished ninth at the 2014 Asian Games and withdrew from the 2018 edition because of injury. At the 2023 Hangzhou Games, she finished fourth after a thigh injury affected her clean-and-jerk attempts. Her silver in 2026 finally put her on the podium.
The shooting results during Asian Games 2026 Day 5 were more mixed for India’s individual athletes. While the skeet teams secured medals, Manu Bhaker missed the podium in the women’s 10m air pistol final. The result demonstrated the difference between India’s overall medal performance in shooting and the outcomes in individual events on the day.
The Asian Games 2026 Day 5 results also added to the list of firsts for India at the 2026 Games. Jay Meena’s soft tennis bronze became India’s first medal in the discipline at the Asian Games, while Mirabai Chanu’s silver ended a 28-year wait for an Indian weightlifting medal at the continental event.
India entered the Asian Games 2026 Day 5 competition looking to build on its record performance at the 2023 Hangzhou Games, where the country won 107 medals. The 2026 edition is being held from September 19 to October 4, giving the Indian contingent several more days to compete across the remaining disciplines.
The Asian Games 2026 Day 5 results also underline the importance of India’s depth across sports. Alongside established names such as Mirabai Chanu and Manu Bhaker, athletes such as Jay Meena have contributed to the medal tally in disciplines where India has had less success historically. The combination of established medal sources and new podium finishes has shaped India’s campaign through the opening days.
As Asian Games 2026 Day 5 progresses into its remaining events, Indian athletes continue to compete in hockey, kabaddi, badminton and other disciplines. More medals could be added as the day’s competitions conclude, meaning the final tally may differ from figures reported during the morning and afternoon sessions.
The Asian Games 2026 Day 5 campaign has therefore produced several notable results for India, led by Mirabai Chanu’s silver medal, bronze medals in men’s and women’s skeet, and Jay Meena’s historic soft tennis medal. With the medal table continuing to change throughout the Games, India’s final position will depend on results across the remaining competition through October 4.
For India, the focus now shifts to the remaining events of the Asian Games 2026 Day 5 and the competitions scheduled over the following days. The early medal haul has already included gold, silver and bronze medals across multiple disciplines, while athletes in hockey, badminton, kabaddi, shooting, weightlifting and other sports continue their campaigns in Aichi-Nagoya.
