The third day of the 2026 Asian Games (September 22) brought several significant achievements for India. The women's cricket team defeated Sri Lanka by 147 runs to win the gold medal. Additionally, the men's badminton team secured a spot among the medalists by defeating host country Japan with a score of 3:0. Successes were also noted in sports disciplines by Roshibin Devi, who earned her third medal at the Asian Games.
The Indian women's squad won the final against Sri Lanka, scoring 216/3 in 20 overs. Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma opened the partnership for 99 runs in this match. Mandhana was noted for becoming the first female cricketer to score 11,000 international runs. Richa Ghosh helped push the total score of the Indian team past 200, scoring 49 runs without a wicket in just 22 deliveries. In response, the Sri Lankan team was dismissed for 69 runs. Shafali took two wickets, and Dipti Sharma recorded three.
India successfully defended its 2023 World Cup title in Hangzhou, while Sri Lanka finished as the silver medalist.
In the men's badminton quarter-final, the team beat Japan 3:0, thus guaranteeing their place among the medalists. Lakshya Sen, who trailed 14:19 in the decisive match against Kodai Naraoki, ranked seventh in the world, managed to win 11:21, 21:5, and 21:19. Following this, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty defeated the pair Hoki Takuro-Kuboyasi Yugo with scores of 21:18 and 24:22. Ayush Shetty concluded India's triumph with scores of 21:10 and 21:19 against Koki Watanabe.
However, the women's team lost to Japan with a score of 1:3. Pi Vinthu, Unnati Hooda, and Tanvi Sharma lost their singles matches, while Trisha Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand secured India's only victory.
In the Wushu competition in the 60 kg Sanda category, Roshibin Devi defeated Chu Meng Xin from Macau by points, advancing to the semi-finals. This marked her third medal at the Asian Games. Previously, she had won bronze in Jakarta in 2018 and silver in Hangzhou.
Among other Indian athletes in Wushu, Hanjabam Lenglentombi Devi placed ninth in the final for Nanquan and Nandao nominations. In the men's 56 kg tournament, Aryan lost to Saidullo Aburashitov from Uzbekistan with a score of 1:2 in the quarter-finals.
The Indian men's team achieved a convincing victory over Sri Lanka with a score of 16:1, securing their second major win in Group A. Jugraj Singh scored four goals, while Abhishek and Dilpreet Singh each scored three goals. Prior to this, India had beaten Indonesia 13:1. Suresh Ratnake from Sri Lanka became a historic figure by scoring his team's first goal against India at the Asian Games. India's next opponent will be South Korea.
In the women's 51 kg weight class, Sakshi Choudhary defeated Iru Villegas, an Olympic medalist from Beijing, with a score of 5:0. Sakshi now faces the reigning world champion Alua Balkibekova. Jadamani Singh defeated Chandra Bahadur Tapu from Nepal with a score of 5:0; in the round of 16, she is set to face Carlo Palom, a silver medalist from the Tokyo Olympics.
In shooting, the pair Elavenil Valarivan and Parta Mane placed fourth in the mixed team final in the 10-meter air rifle. This pair initially had hopes of a medal, having secured second place in the qualification round. In men's skeleton, Anandjit Singh Naruka is jointly leading with four other athletes after four rounds.
The women's tennis team reached the quarter-finals, beating Thailand 3:2, but subsequently lost to North Korea 0:3. The men's team was eliminated in the round of 16 after losing to South Korea 3:0.
The only Indian gymnast, Pranati Nayak, qualified for the vault final, placing seventh with a score of 12.916. In soft tennis, Jay Mina defeated Aran Hussain from Pakistan 4:0, advancing to the quarter-finals. The men's kabaddi team defeated South Korea in Group A with a score of 63:31.
In eFootball, the Indian pair drew 0:0 against Uzbekistan and then received a walkover against Mongolia. In sports such as Sepak Takraw, fencing, and karate, India suffered defeats. The men's 4x100 meter relay team advanced to the final.