Asian Games 2026: Meet the Indian Women Athletes Behind India's Medal

By: Ayushi Dutta, Senior Correspondent

Asian Games 2026 Indian Women Bronze Medal Winners

Parinaaz Dhaliwal, Raiza Dhillon and Maheshwari Chauhan Win Skeet Team Bronze

Parinaaz Dhaliwal, Raiza Dhillon and Maheshwari Chauhan secured bronze in the women’s skeet team event. India recorded a combined score of 331, finishing behind China and Kazakhstan. Dhaliwal and Dhillon each scored 111, while Chauhan contributed 109. The podium finish added another medal to India’s shooting tally and demonstrated the depth of the country’s women’s contingent across rifle and shotgun disciplines. Each athlete’s score contributed to the combined team result, allowing India to finish among the medal-winning nations. The bronze also highlighted the breadth of India’s shooting programme, with women athletes competing successfully across different formats at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

Parinaaz Dhaliwal and Anantjeet Singh Naruka Win Mixed Skeet Bronze

Parinaaz Dhaliwal and Anantjeet Singh Naruka won bronze in the mixed team skeet event, giving India its first Asian Games medal in the mixed skeet team event. The Indian pair recorded 44 hits from 48 shots in the final. They finished level with South Korea before winning the bronze through a tie-break, while China took gold. For Dhaliwal, the medal came after her earlier bronze in the women’s skeet team event. The result therefore gave her a second podium finish at the Games and added a historic milestone to India’s shooting campaign. Their performance also demonstrated the importance of accuracy and consistency in the mixed-team format.

Suchika Tariyal Creates History with MMA Bronze

Suchika Tariyal won bronze in the women’s Traditional MMA 60kg category, giving India its first-ever Asian Games medal in mixed martial arts. Tariyal defeated Mongolia’s Altanchimeg Baigalmaa 2-0 in the quarter-final to reach the medal positions. Under the competition format, reaching the semi-final guaranteed her at least bronze. Her performance marked a breakthrough for Indian women in MMA and introduced another discipline to India’s Asian Games medal tally. The historic result placed Tariyal among the athletes who created new milestones for India at Aichi-Nagoya. Her bronze also expanded India’s presence in combat sports and provided an important achievement for women competing in MMA.

Seema Kumari Wins Women’s 10,000m Bronze

Seema Kumari won bronze in the women’s 10,000m, clocking 32:50.05. Her result ended a 16-year wait for India in the Asian Games women’s 10,000m, following the medals won by Preeja Sreedharan and Kavita Raut at the 2010 edition. Seema became only the third Indian woman to win an Asian Games medal in the 10,000m, adding an important long-distance running milestone to India’s athletics campaign. The performance required sustained pace and endurance over the long-distance race, and her podium finish gave India another medal in distance running. Her achievement also connected the current athletics campaign with India’s previous Asian Games success in the event.

Manpreet Kaur Takes Women’s Shot Put Bronze

Manpreet Kaur secured bronze in the women’s shot put, adding another field-event medal to India’s athletics campaign. Her podium finish came during a productive period for Indian athletics, with women athletes winning medals across distance running, sprinting, jumping, throwing and relay events. Kaur’s result broadened India’s medal contribution beyond track races and reinforced the growing depth of the country’s women’s field-event programme. The shot put requires a combination of strength, technique and control, making her bronze another important addition to India’s athletics results. Her performance helped demonstrate that India’s women athletes were contributing across multiple areas of track and field at the Aichi-Nagoya Games.

Baranica Elangovan Creates History with Pole Vault Bronze

Baranica Elangovan won bronze in the women’s pole vault with a clearance of 4.15m, giving India its first-ever Asian Games medal in women’s pole vault. She shared bronze with Kazakhstan’s Polina Ivanova, with both athletes clearing 4.15m and recording the same number of failures at 4.25m. Japan’s Misaki Morota won gold, and China’s Chunge Niu took silver. Elangovan had earlier improved the Indian national record twice in 2026, reaching 4.23m. Her Asian Games bronze therefore represented a historic achievement for Indian athletics and added pole vault to the list of women’s events in which India has reached the podium. The milestone also highlighted her progress during 2026.

Prachi Choudhary Wins Women’s 400m Bronze

Prachi Choudhary won bronze in the women’s 400m final with a time of 53.21 seconds. Bahrain’s Salwa Naser won gold in a Games Record of 49.20 seconds, while Iran’s Zahra Zarei Manoujan took silver in 52.38 seconds. Choudhary’s podium finish added another medal to India’s athletics tally. Kiran Pahal also reached the final and finished fifth, giving India two finalists in the event. Choudhary’s bronze strengthened India’s representation in the sprinting programme and added another women’s athletics medal to the Aichi-Nagoya campaign. Her final performance placed her among the leading competitors in the event and contributed to India’s growing track-and-field medal collection.

Harita Bhadra Wins Women’s 200m Bronze

Harita Bhadra secured bronze in the women’s 200m final with a time of 23.20 seconds. She finished just 0.01 seconds ahead of Japan’s Ido Abigeirufuka, who clocked 23.21 seconds. Singapore’s Shanti Pereira won gold in 22.78 seconds, while China’s Chen Yujie took silver in 22.93 seconds. Bhadra’s medal ended India’s eight-year wait for a women’s 200m Asian Games medal following Dutee Chand’s bronze in 2018. The narrow margin between Bhadra and the fourth-place finisher underlined the competitiveness of the final. Her bronze added another sprinting medal to India’s athletics campaign and continued the strong contribution of Indian women on the track.

Parul Chaudhary Breaks National Record with Steeplechase Bronze

Parul Chaudhary won bronze in the women’s 3000m steeplechase with a time of 9:08.67, setting a new Indian national record. She improved her previous record of 9:12.46 and also produced a personal best. The medal was Chaudhary’s second consecutive Asian Games steeplechase podium, following her silver at Hangzhou 2023. She had also won gold in the 5000m at that edition, adding another significant achievement to her Asian Games record. Her performance at Aichi-Nagoya combined a podium finish with a new national mark, making it another notable chapter in her Asian Games career. The result also strengthened India’s medal presence in women’s distance events.

Diya Chitale and Manush Shah Win Table Tennis Mixed Doubles Bronze

Diya Chitale and Manush Shah secured bronze in the mixed doubles table tennis event. The Indian pair reached the semi-final stage before finishing with a podium place. Chitale’s medal added another racquet-sport contribution to India’s Asian Games campaign and highlighted the role of mixed doubles in the country’s medal tally. Her result also added table tennis to the list of disciplines in which Indian women athletes reached the podium at Aichi-Nagoya. Mixed doubles requires close coordination between partners, particularly in terms of positioning, timing and shot selection. Chitale’s bronze therefore represented another contribution from an Indian woman athlete to the country’s diverse medal haul.

Joshana Chinappa and Velavan Senthilkumar Secure Squash Bronze

Joshana Chinappa and Velavan Senthilkumar won bronze in mixed doubles squash, adding another medal to India’s successful campaign in the sport. Chinappa brought extensive international experience to the partnership, while Senthilkumar contributed alongside her in the mixed-doubles format. Their podium finish came alongside Anahat Singh’s historic women’s singles silver, giving India multiple squash medals at Aichi-Nagoya. The mixed-doubles bronze expanded India’s medal contribution in squash and demonstrated the country’s presence across different formats of the sport. For Indian women’s squash, Chinappa’s podium finish also formed part of a wider campaign in which women athletes made notable contributions to India’s medal tally at the Asian Games.

Pincky Balhara Wins Women’s -78kg Kurash Bronze

Pincky Balhara secured bronze in the women’s -78kg kurash event after losing her semi-final to South Korea’s Mo Sumin. The medal added another combat-sports podium to India’s Asian Games campaign and increased the country’s overall tally. Balhara’s bronze also became one of the latest medals added to India’s tally as competition continued into the final week of the Games. Her performance brought another combat discipline into India’s women’s medal contribution at Aichi-Nagoya. The result also demonstrated the variety of sports in which Indian women athletes were competing for podium finishes, extending India’s medal presence beyond shooting, athletics, cricket, kabaddi and squash.

How Many More Medals is India Expected to Win by the Final Day of Asian Games 2026?

From the shooting range to the athletics track, from the kabaddi mat to the cricket field, Indian women athletes have made their presence felt throughout the Asian Games 2026.

Their medals have included historic firsts, successful title defences, national records and closely fought podium finishes. They have represented India across cricket, kabaddi, shooting, MMA, weightlifting, wushu, athletics, table tennis, squash and kurash.

With the Asian Games 2026 scheduled to continue until 4 October, several competitions remain. The country has already witnessed a strong run of performances from its women athletes, while the final medal tally is yet to be determined.

As the athletes enter the final stretch of the Games, the medal race continues. The Women Entrepreneurs Review Team will continue tracking the performances and achievements of India’s women athletes as the Asian Games 2026 move towards their grand finale.