There was a different kind of noise in Delhi on Thursday: the cheering of a country welcoming its athletes home. Prime Minister Narendra Modi honoured India’s medal winners from the Asian Games 2026, a campaign that ended with 85 medals and a fourth-place finish, a result that was strong, but with a few pointed gaps.

The felicitation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met and honoured India’s Asian Games medallists in Delhi, celebrating the country’s performance at the Aichi-Nagoya Games. On 4 October, as the Games ended, he had already congratulated the contingent on social media, saying their performances had brought immense joy to the nation. He also said he hoped the Games would inspire even greater achievements and help strengthen India’s sporting ecosystem at the grassroots level.

The final tally

India finished fourth in the medal table with 85 medals: 21 gold, 27 silver and 37 bronze. That was the country’s second-highest haul at the Asian Games.

The top of the table was a long way ahead. China led with 341 medals including 169 gold, host Japan was second with 269 medals including 83 gold, and South Korea was third with 150 medals including 39 gold.

It was also a drop from the previous edition. India’s 85 medals fell short of the record 106 medals, including 28 gold, won at the Hangzhou Games in 2023, a gap of 21 medals.

Where India shone

Team sports delivered the defining moments. The men’s and women’s cricket teams both retained their titles, and both kabaddi teams won gold. Both men’s and women’s hockey teams also struck gold, with the men winning on the final day. Reports describe the women’s hockey gold as India’s first in that event since 1982, and the men’s kabaddi gold as India’s ninth in ten editions since the sport became a men’s team event at the Games in 1990.

Archery led the individual sports. The archers won nine medals, including five golds. Wrestling and boxing also made strong contributions to the tally, and the campaign included record-breaking performances, first-time podium finishes and some historic individual triumphs, according to the reports.

Where India fell short

The campaign was not without disappointments. According to the summary you shared, badminton, tennis and shooting recorded setbacks compared with previous performances. We have not seen detailed event-by-event figures to show how big those drops were, and we are not putting numbers on them. Several of those sports have been sources of medals at earlier Games, so the gaps are likely to draw attention from federations and fans.

What the numbers mean

Fourth place is respectable, but the picture is mixed. The medal total is well below the record Hangzhou haul, and the gap to China and Japan remains very large. At the same time, the golds in cricket, kabaddi and hockey and the strength in archery show where India’s depth lies. The next round of conversation is likely to be about the sports that didn’t deliver, and about what support athletes in those disciplines need.

What happens next

With the Games over, the focus turns to the next set of international events and to how federations and the government review this campaign.