Army athletes script best-ever Asian Games haul with 20 medals

The Indian Army’s athletes delivered their most successful performance ever at the Asian Games, securing a record 20 medals—six gold, eight silver, and six bronze—across 15 sports disciplines in Aichi-Nagoya. Their haul represented nearly a quarter of India’s total 85 medals, including a near-tripling of golds compared to the 2023 edition, with shooting and track-and-field standouts leading the charge.

Naib Subedar Neeru Dhanda dominated trap shooting with two golds and a silver, while Naib Subedar Gulveer Singh became the first Indian male track athlete to win three individual medals in a single Games, adding two silvers and a bronze. The Army’s expansion in shooting alone drove a surge from one medal in 2023 to four in 2026, with Havildar Sawan Barwal and Subedar Dhiraj Bommadevara setting national records in marathon and archery, respectively.

Women athletes contributed 15% of the medals and a third of the golds, including two golds and a silver from nine participants, while Havildar Kamaljeet and Naib Subedar Salman Khan broke Asian Games records in pistol shooting and rowing, respectively. Their achievements underscored the Army’s growing role in India’s sporting ecosystem, with its 62 athletes making up 12.6% of the national contingent—a significant rise from 2023’s 9%.

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