Asian Games 2026: Services Athletes Win Record 27 Medals

The Indian Armed Forces marked their strongest ever outing at a continental multi-sport meet on 12 October 2026, when Defence Minister Rajnath Singh honoured the Services sportspersons who brought home 27 medals from the 2026 Asian Games in Japan. Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Pralhad Joshi joined the ceremony in New Delhi, where Chief of the Army Staff General Dhiraj Seth was also present.

The medal count

The 27 medals won by soldiers, sailors and air warriors break up into 6 gold, 11 silver and 10 bronze. India as a whole returned with 85 medals, made up of 21 gold, 27 silver and 37 bronze, and finished fourth on the medal table. The Services therefore supplied 32 per cent of the country's medals and 28.57 per cent of its gold. In all, 92 athletes drawn from the three Services took the field in 19 disciplines.

The firsts behind the tally

• Naib Subedar Neeru Dhanda took two gold and one silver, and became the first Indian woman to win gold in the individual women's trap event at the Games.
• Naib Subedar Gulveer Singh won two silver and one bronze, the first Indian man in track and field to collect three individual medals at a single edition.
• Havildar Sawan Barwal took silver in the men's marathon in a national record time of 2:11:37, closing a 44-year gap since India last won a marathon medal at the Games.
• Naib Subedar Sarvesh Kushare won a medal in the men's high jump, an event in which India had not reached the podium for 56 years.

What the minister said

Rajnath Singh put the showing down to discipline, hard work and team spirit, and spoke of the unseen part of an athlete's life: training before dawn, gym work, injury and recovery, and juggling unit duties with preparation while living away from family. To those who competed without reaching the podium he said that giving up, not losing, is real defeat. He credited the Mission Olympic Wing with spotting talent, giving it scientific training and world-class facilities and readying it for international competition, and thanked coaches, support staff, physiotherapists, nutritionists and the families of the athletes.

Looking to 2028

The minister asked trainers and support staff to work to a systematic plan for the Los Angeles Olympics 2028 and to aim higher than this year's return. He said the aim is not simply wider participation but a place for India among the leading powers of world sport, backed by sporting infrastructure and modern training facilities.