Asian Games 2026: India’s golden Friday as archers, boxers and Sujeet Kalkal deliver five golds

India enjoyed a remarkable golden Friday at the Asian Games 2026, collecting five gold medals across archery, boxing and wrestling as the country’s medal tally surged to 75 at the Aichi-Nagoya Games.

The gold rush began in the women's recurve archery team event, where Kumkum Mohod, Ankita Bhakat and Kirti Sharma stunned South Korea 5-3 to claim India's first-ever Asian Games medal in the discipline.

The Indian trio held their nerve against the traditionally dominant Korean side, with 17-year-old Kumkum emerging as a decisive figure in the final. She produced two crucial 10s in the closing stages to help India seal a historic victory.

The momentum then carried into boxing, where India enjoyed a golden triple.

Lovlina Borgohain marked her 29th birthday in memorable fashion by defeating China's Bao Ziyi 5-0 in the women's 75 kg final. The Olympic medallist produced a commanding performance to add another Asian Games gold to her medal collection.

Parveen Hooda followed with a hard-fought victory in the women's 65 kg final, defeating Chinese Taipei's Chen Nien-Chen 3-2 via split decision.

Parveen had lost her 2022 Asian Games bronze medal following a whereabouts failure under anti-doping rules. Her victory on Friday, against a former world champion, marked a significant return to the top on the Asian stage.

India's third boxing gold of the day came from Ankush Panghal, who defeated South Korea's Kim Min-seong in the men's 80 kg final.

The reigning Commonwealth Games champion controlled the bout with an aggressive approach, using quick combinations and counter-punches to build his advantage. Ankush won the opening round 4-1 and followed it with a 5-0 second round before maintaining his lead in the final round to secure the gold.

His victory also made him the first Indian male boxer to win an Asian Games gold since Amit Panghal in 2018, according to ESPN.

The day's biggest comeback, however, came in wrestling.

Sujeet Kalkal produced a remarkable turnaround in the men's freestyle 65 kg final against Tajikistan's Abdulmazhid Kudiev. Trailing 2-9 with just over a minute and a half remaining, Sujeet launched a series of takedowns to claw his way back into the contest.

With just 11 seconds left on the clock, the Indian completed the comeback and secured the gold medal.

Sujeet had earlier stunned Japan's reigning Olympic champion Kiyooka in the semifinal. The bout finished 3-3, but Sujeet was awarded the victory on criteria after scoring the final point.

His gold ended India's wait for an Asian Games wrestling title since Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat won gold at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games, according to ESPN.

The day's haul also included medals outside the gold rush. Kumkum Mohod and Dhiraj Bommadevara won silver in the mixed recurve team event after losing 3-5 to China's Zhu Jingyi and Li Mengqi. India's men's recurve team of Dhiraj Bommadevara, Yashdeep Sanjay Bhoge and Neeraj Chauhan also took silver after a 1-5 defeat to South Korea.

In sailing, Nethra Kumanan won bronze in the women's dinghy event, while India's men's quadrant team of Malemnganba Singh Sorokhaibam, Ram Kumar Sharma, Bobby Kumar and Akash Yumnam secured bronze in sepaktakraw after losing their semifinal to Japan.

With Sujeet's wrestling gold, India reached 75 medals at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, comprising 15 gold, 25 silver and 35 bronze medals.

It was a day in which India's medal charge came from across disciplines, with the country's archers, boxers and wrestlers producing one golden performance after another.

(With inputs from ANI)