Amid the disappointments and near-misses that inevitably come with a multi-sport Games, several Indian athletes have already etched their names into the record books at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya.
## Elavenil Valarivan’s Landmark Silver
Elavenil Valarivan became the first Indian woman to win an Asian Games medal in the women’s 10m air rifle individual event, claiming silver on the opening weekend of competition. She followed it with a second silver in the team event alongside Sonam Maskar and Vidarsa Vinod, giving her two medals before the Games had even reached their halfway point.
## Women’s Cricket Delivers Gold
India’s women’s cricket team produced one of the standout moments of the Games so far, thrashing Sri Lanka by 147 runs to claim gold on day three, delivering the Indian contingent’s first gold medal of the tournament.
## Roshibina Devi’s Remarkable Consistency
Naorem Roshibina Devi has now guaranteed herself a medal at three consecutive Asian Games, a rare feat of sustained excellence in the notoriously unpredictable discipline of wushu. Her run in Nagoya is detailed further in our dedicated update on her Sanda 60kg campaign.
## A Maiden Medal for Himanshu Dhillon
Young shooter Himanshu Dhillon claimed silver in the men’s 10m air rifle individual event, with teammate Rudrankksh Patil taking bronze, giving India a one-two finish and a team silver in the same discipline.
## Why These Moments Matter
Each of these performances adds to a growing narrative around India’s evolving strength in shooting, wushu and team sports at the Asian Games. For a look at the other side of the ledger, where India’s campaign has not gone to plan, see our roundup of the athletes who have missed out on medals so far in Nagoya, and our deeper dive into why India’s shooting team is still chasing its first gold of these Games.
## Looking Ahead
With more than a week of competition still to come through October 4, several more Indian athletes have real chances to add their own chapters to this growing list of Asian Games milestones.