Indian shooters target more medals, Suchika Tariyal continues her push towards the MMA final, while hockey, kabaddi, badminton and table tennis headline a packed Monday schedule.
India enters Day 3 of the Asian Games 2026 with medal opportunities in shooting, wushu and mixed martial arts, alongside important group-stage fixtures across hockey, kabaddi, badminton and table tennis.
Shooting: India’s first medal opportunity
Medal WatchRudrankksh Patil, Parth Mane and Himanshu Dhillon will lead India’s challenge in the men’s 10m air rifle qualification. Their combined qualification scores will decide the team medals, while the leading individuals advance to the individual final.
Men’s 10m Air Rifle Qualification and Team Final
Rudrankksh Patil, Parth Mane and Himanshu Dhillon
Men’s and Women’s Skeet Qualification — Day 1
The opening qualification session begins India’s skeet campaign.
Men’s 10m Air Rifle Individual Final
Indian participation is subject to qualification from the morning session.
Combat sports and wushu
Podium OpportunitySuchika Tariyal has already guaranteed herself at least a bronze medal by reaching the women’s traditional 60kg MMA semifinal. A victory against her Singapore opponent would put the Indian athlete into the gold-medal contest.
Wushu — Women’s Changquan Final
Nyeman Wangsu competes in an early medal event.
MMA — Women’s Traditional 60kg Semifinal
Suchika Tariyal vs Singapore; bronze already assured.
Wushu Sanda — Round of 16
Women’s 60kg and men’s 56kg contests featuring Indian athletes.
Boxing — Men’s 70kg Round of 32
Sumit faces Thailand’s Bunjong Sinsiri.
Major team matches
Hockey — India Women vs Indonesia
Pool B. India return after opening their campaign with a 19–0 win over Uzbekistan.
Kabaddi — India Men vs Japan
Group A. The Indian men’s team begins its campaign.
Badminton — India Men vs Bangladesh
Men’s team first round.
Table Tennis — India Men vs Pakistan
Group F clash between the South Asian rivals.
Kabaddi — India Women vs Bangladesh
Group A. India’s women open their tournament campaign.
Swimming heats and possible finals
India’s swimmers begin early in the morning, with the evening programme offering another opportunity if they qualify. The swimming finals are scheduled from 1:30 PM IST onwards.
| Time | Event | Indian athletes | Stage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6:32 AM | Men’s 50m Backstroke | Rishabh Das, Srihari Nataraj | Heats |
| 6:46 AM / 6:50 AM | Men’s 50m Freestyle | Akash Mani, Heer Gitesh Shah | Heats |
| 7:10 AM | Men’s 100m Breaststroke | Danush Suresh | Heats |
| 7:44 AM | Men’s 4x200m Freestyle Relay | India | Heat |
| From 1:30 PM | Swimming Finals | Subject to qualification | Medal Session |
Soft tennis and sepaktakraw
Soft Tennis — Mixed Doubles
Jay Meena and Aadhya Tiwari begin in the group stage. Knockouts and medal rounds follow through approximately 1:30 PM if they qualify.
Sepaktakraw — India Men vs Japan
Men’s team regu preliminary Group B.
India’s complete Day 3 schedule at a glance
| Time (IST) | Sport | Event or match | Importance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5:30 AM | Wushu | Nyeman Wangsu — Women’s Changquan final | Medal event |
| 5:30 AM | Soft Tennis | Mixed doubles group stage | Knockouts follow |
| 5:30 AM | Sepaktakraw | India vs Japan — Men’s team regu | Group B |
| 6:15 AM | Shooting | Men’s 10m air rifle qualification and team final | Medal event |
| 6:30 AM | Shooting | Men’s and women’s skeet qualification | Day 1 |
| 6:32–7:44 AM | Swimming | Four heats featuring India | Finals from 1:30 PM |
| 8:00 AM | MMA | Suchika Tariyal — Women’s 60kg semifinal | Medal assured |
| 9:00 AM | Shooting | Men’s 10m air rifle individual final | Subject to qualification |
| 9:30 AM | Hockey | India women vs Indonesia | Pool B |
| 9:45 AM | Kabaddi | India men vs Japan | Group A |
| 11:30 AM | Badminton | India men vs Bangladesh | Team first round |
| 2:30 PM | Wushu | Sanda round of 16 | Knockout |
| 2:45 PM | Boxing | Sumit vs Bunjong Sinsiri — Men’s 70kg | Round of 32 |
| 3:30 PM | Table Tennis | India men vs Pakistan | Group F |
| 4:15 PM | Kabaddi | India women vs Bangladesh | Group A |
What to watch on Day 3
- Shooting: India could add to the two silver medals won on Day 2.
- MMA: Suchika Tariyal is one win away from reaching the gold-medal contest.
- Hockey: India’s women will look to build on their 19-goal opening performance.
- India vs Pakistan: The men’s table tennis meeting is one of the day’s headline team fixtures.
- Kabaddi: Both Indian teams begin their group campaigns.
Schedule note: Timings are listed in IST and reflect the published programme available before competition on 21 September 2026. Delays, withdrawals and qualification outcomes may change the running order.
