Shreyas Iyer and Abhishek Sharma Thank Fans in Japanese Style After Asian Games Match

The quarterfinals of the men's cricket tournament at the Asian Games 2026 in Nagoya have been fully determined. After the match in Group A was cancelled due to rain on September 26 (Saturday), Nepal and Afghanistan advanced to the next round, while the host country Japan was eliminated from the tournament.

Malaysia and Hong Kong advanced to the next stage from Group B. In the last match of Group A, Nepal and Japan faced each other. This match took place at Korogi Sports Park in Nishin city. Nepal, having lost the toss, started with bat, scoring a strong total of 149/4 in 15 overs. Sandeep Jora and Lokesh Bam helped the team reach a good position, but then it started raining. Due to the continuous rain, Japan's innings did not begin, and the match ended without a winner.

This result brought direct benefits to Nepal and Afghanistan. Earlier, Nepal achieved a major surprise in Group A by defeating Afghanistan. For Japan, this match was the last chance to remain in the tournament, but the rain dashed its hopes.

In Group B, the match between Malaysia and Oman was also cancelled due to rain, and no balls were bowled. As a result of this match, Malaysia and Hong Kong qualified for the quarterfinals, and Oman's campaign ended.

Following the completion of the preliminary round matches, the full quarterfinal schedule was announced. India will face Afghanistan on September 28 (Monday) at 10:00 AM. On the same day, at 5:30 AM Indian time, Pakistan and Hong Kong will meet. The third quarterfinal match will feature Sri Lanka against Nepal, and in the fourth quarterfinal, Malaysia will play against Bangladesh. Both of these matches will take place on September 29 (Tuesday).

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.

The Indian women's cricket team once again demonstrated its superiority at the Asian Games 2026. Under the leadership of Harmanpreet Kaur, on September 22nd (Tuesday), the Indian team secured a convincing victory over Sri Lanka in the final match held at Korogi Sports Park, Nishin. The victory was achieved by a margin of 147 runs.

Previously, under Harmanpreet Kaur's guidance, India won the gold medal at the Asian Games in Hangzhou in 2022.

In the final, after deciding to bat first following the toss, the Indian team received a powerful start thanks to Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma. Both players formed a partnership for the first wicket, scoring 99 runs in just 60 balls.

Smriti scored 79 runs off 45 balls, including 5 fours and 7 sixes. Meanwhile, Shafali contributed 48 runs off 29 balls, which included 3 fours and 3 sixes. During this innings, Smriti reached a historic milestone, becoming the first woman in international cricket to score 11,000 runs.

Although captain Harmanpreet Kaur could not play a major innings, Richa Ghosh took responsibility for finishing the game. Harmanpreet left the field having scored 19 runs. Richa, however, displayed an explosive performance, remaining unbeaten and scoring 49 runs off 22 balls, which included 6 fours and 3 sixes. Thanks to her aggressive play, India managed to post a substantial total of 216/3 in 20 overs, marking the highest score in the history of women's cricket at the Asian Games.

The Sri Lankan team, chasing the target, faced a very poor start. Six Sri Lankan players were dismissed within the first 50 runs. Sri Lanka's captain, Chamari Athapaththu, scored the most runs—29.

Ultimately, the entire Sri Lankan team was dismissed, scoring only 69 runs. Thus, India won the final match by a margin of 147 runs. The Indian players showed outstanding bowling performances. Dipthi Sharma took the most wickets—3 wickets. Shafali Verma, Shri Charani, and Shreyanka Patil each took two wickets.

For Shafali, the Asian Games 2026 were successful. In the quarter-final against Japan, she contributed as both a batter and a bowler. In the semi-final, she played a historic innings, scoring 100 runs without being out against Bangladesh, which helped India reach the final. In the final, Shafali also delivered a quick innings of 48 runs and remained a key player in India's campaign at the tournament.

India won its first gold medal in women's cricket at the Asian Games in 2023 in Hangzhou. In 2026, the Indian team participated as the reigning champion and retained their title by reaching the final.