Photo via Hindustan Times

22 firsts, one historic Asian Games: The Indian breakthroughs that made Aichi-Nagoya special

India concluded its campaign at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games with an impressive total of 85 medals, comprising 21 gold, 27 silver, and 37 bronze, securing a fourth-place finish overall. Beyond the medal count itself, the delegation achieved twenty-two historic breakthroughs in disciplines and events where the country had never previously reached the podium.

The landmark performance featured pioneering podium finishes across mixed sports and weight categories. Suchika Tariyal secured a bronze medal in mixed martial arts, Jay Meena claimed bronze in soft tennis, and Satnam Singh alongside Salman Khan earned bronze in rowing.

Additional historic highlights included Neeru Dhanda capturing gold in trap shooting, Kumkum Mohod winning recurve archery gold to secure an Olympic quota, Lovlina Borgohain taking boxing gold in the 75kg category, Aman Sehrawat winning freestyle wrestling gold at 57kg, and Pranavi Urs claiming individual golf gold.

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