Nagoya [Japan], September 18 (ANI): India’s women’s cricket team stormed into the semifinals of the Asian Games 2026 with an eight-wicket win over Japan, while the teqball mixed doubles pair of Quimcy Joaquim Dsouza and Mohamed Anas Imran Beg secured a place in the bronze medal match on a day of mixed fortunes for the Indian contingent on Friday.
Although the official opening ceremony of the continental multi-sport event is scheduled for Saturday, Indian athletes were already in action across disciplines in Aichi-Nagoya.
India’s women produced a dominant display in the cricket quarterfinal at Nisshin, bowling Japan out for 57 in 19.5 overs before racing to 59/2 in just five overs to seal victory with 90 balls to spare.
After opting to bowl, India’s attack kept Japan in check throughout the innings, taking wickets at regular intervals. Ayaka Kato-Stafford was Japan’s top scorer with 25 off 47 deliveries, but she received little support as the hosts were dismissed for a modest total.
Sree Charani led the bowling effort with four wickets, while Shafali Verma claimed two. Shreyanka Patil and Deepti Sharma also picked up a wicket each.
India’s chase was led by an explosive innings from Shafali, who remained unbeaten on 40 off 15 balls, hitting four boundaries. Gunalan Kamalini was dismissed for a duck and Bharti Fulmali made six, but Richa Ghosh joined Shafali and struck an unbeaten 12 off six deliveries to take India to the target.
Shafali finished the match in style, launching Shimako Kato over long-on for a six with one run required.
The win booked India’s place in Sunday’s semifinals, where they will face Bangladesh. Pakistan will take on Sri Lanka in the other semifinal.
In teqball, Dsouza and Beg bounced back from their quarterfinal defeat to Vietnam by beating the Philippines’ Abulencia Jhoana and Agustin Prince 2-0 in the mixed doubles repechage.
The Indian pair won the first set 12-3 and followed it up with a 12-6 victory in the second to secure their place in Sunday’s bronze medal match.
Their route to the repechage had included a loss to Vietnam’s Gian Nghi Trinh and Hoang Minh Tan Nguyen in the quarterfinals. The Indian duo went down 7-12 in the opening set and 10-12 in the second, ending their hopes of progressing to the gold and silver medal matches.
Dsouza and Beg had advanced from Group A after finishing with two wins and two defeats in four matches. They began with a 2-0 win over the Philippines, before losing 1-2 to Cambodia’s Bun Thuonvireak and Yorn Sophornraksmy, and 0-2 to Thailand’s Dejaroen Phakpong and Wongkhamchan Suphawadi.
With qualification on the line in their final group fixture, they defeated Kuwait’s Alebraheem Salman and Alfailakawi Hessah 2-0, winning the sets 12-1 and 12-6 to secure a place in the knockout stage.
Dsouza will also compete in the women’s singles event. She topped Group A after registering wins over opponents from Japan and Cambodia and is scheduled to face Indonesia’s Sumaya in the semifinals on Saturday.
Meanwhile, India’s men’s soft tennis team bowed out of the competition after a 0-2 defeat to Indonesia in the quarterfinals.
Jay Meena and Yogesh Choudhary lost 2-5 to Tio Hutauruk and Fernando Sanger in the opening doubles tie, leaving India needing a win in singles to stay in contention.
Aryan Thakur fought hard against Bagus Pradewa but was edged 3-4, as Indonesia sealed the tie and advanced to the semifinals.
India had reached the last eight after finishing second in Group C with two wins from three ties. The team, comprising Meena, Choudhary, Thakur, Aniket Patel and Om Yadav, opened its campaign with a 3-0 victory over Laos before losing 0-3 to Chinese Taipei.
The Indians responded in their final group fixture with a 3-0 win over Mongolia, securing four points and a quarterfinal berth. Chinese Taipei topped the group.
Despite the team event exit, India’s campaign in soft tennis will continue in the individual competitions. Meena and Thakur are scheduled to compete in the men’s singles on September 22, while Meena will also feature in mixed doubles on September 21.
Saturday will mark the official opening of the Asian Games, with double Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker and shot-putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor set to lead the Indian contingent as flagbearers at the opening ceremony.
Bhaker, who won two bronze medals at the Paris 2024 Olympics, will compete in the women’s 10m air pistol, women’s 25m pistol and 10m air pistol mixed team events. She became the first athlete from independent India to win two medals in a single edition of the Olympic Games.
Toor, meanwhile, will aim for a third consecutive Asian Games gold in the men’s shot put. He won the title at Jakarta 2018 and retained it at Hangzhou 2023 with a throw of 20.36 metres.
The 20th edition of the Asian Games runs from September 19 to October 4, with more than 500 Indian athletes competing across 37 sports. A total of 45 countries and regions are represented across 43 sports and 469 medal events, with Japan hosting the continental multi-sport event for the third time after Tokyo in 1958 and Hiroshima in 1994.
India finished fourth in the Hangzhou medal standings with 107 medals, including 28 gold, 38 silver and 41 bronze medals, and will seek to build on that performance in Japan.
The Indian contingent features five individual Olympic medallists, although defending javelin throw champion Neeraj Chopra has withdrawn due to an ankle injury. PV Sindhu will lead the badminton challenge, Mirabai Chanu will compete in weightlifting, Lovlina Borgohain in boxing, and Aman Sehrawat in wrestling.
India’s boxers arrive after winning a record 10 medals, including seven gold, at the Commonwealth Games. Athletics is also expected to be a key part of the campaign, with more than 70 track and field athletes competing. Gulveer Singh, Tejaswin Shankar and Olympian Sarvesh Kushare are among the names to watch, while Toor will look to extend his success in the shot put.
India will also seek to defend its men’s and women’s titles in cricket and kabaddi, alongside the men’s hockey crown. Shreyas Iyer will lead the men’s cricket team in the T20 competition, with teenage batter Vaibhav Sooryavanshi included in the squad. The women’s team, which also enters as defending champion, is led by T20 captain Harmanpreet Kaur.
The hockey tournaments will have added significance, with the men’s and women’s champions earning direct qualification for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. India will also have opportunities to secure LA 2028 quota places in archery, sailing, squash, surfing and tennis.
With the opening ceremony still to come, India’s campaign has already delivered a semifinal berth in women’s cricket and a bronze-medal opportunity in teqball, while the men’s soft tennis team has concluded its team competition. (ANI)
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