Reaching a medal round at the Asian Games is no guarantee of standing on the podium, and several Indian athletes in Nagoya have learned that the hard way in 2026.
## Manu Bhaker’s Fifth-Place Finish
Two-time Paris Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker finished fifth in the women’s 10m air pistol final, just 0.8 points outside the medal positions. Her full campaign is covered in our dedicated update on her results in Nagoya.
## A Team Effort That Fell Short
India’s women’s 10m air pistol team of Bhaker, Esha Singh and Suruchi Singh finished fourth, missing bronze to Vietnam by the narrowest of margins after both nations tied on 1719 points, with Vietnam awarded the medal on inner-10 count.
## Badminton Heartbreak
India’s women’s badminton team, led by two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu, saw its medal hopes end in the quarterfinals with a 3-1 defeat to hosts Japan. Sindhu herself won her opening game against three-time world champion Akane Yamaguchi before falling in three sets.
## Table Tennis Falls Just Short
The Indian women’s table tennis team, featuring Yashaswini Ghorpade and Sreeja Akula, reached the quarterfinals before losing 0-3 to North Korea, ending a promising run without a medal.
## Wushu’s Near Misses
Beyond Roshibina Devi’s guaranteed medal, other Indian wushu competitors were not as fortunate. Aryan lost his men’s 56kg Sanda quarterfinal to Uzbekistan, while Hanjabam Langlentombi Devi finished ninth in her Nanquan and Nandao final.
## Why These Results Sting
Each of these campaigns represented genuine medal opportunities that ultimately did not convert. For a deeper look at how close some of these misses really were, see our ranking of India’s biggest medal misses at these Games, and our feature on the medal favourites who fell short in Nagoya.
## Moving Forward
With more than a week of competition remaining, several of these athletes and teams still have further individual events to compete in before the Games conclude on October 4.