NAGOYA, SEP 21 (IANS): Defending champions India made strong starts across several disciplines at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya on Monday, registering convincing victories in men’s and women’s kabaddi, badminton and women’s hockey, while Indian wushu players Aryan and Roshibina Devi advanced to the quarter-finals.
In men’s kabaddi, India began their title defence with a comfortable 49-24 victory over hosts Japan at the Tokai Citizens Gymnasium. Asian Games debutants Ayan Lohchab, Devank Dalal and Ashu Malik led India’s attack, with Ashu playing a key role in the early stages.
India raced to an 18-2 lead after inflicting two all-outs and went into the interval with a 31-9 advantage. Ashu produced a three-point Super Raid, while Rahul Sethpal impressed in defence. India inflicted another all-out after the restart to extend their lead to 40-12 before completing a comfortable victory.
India, who have won 11 of the 13 Asian Games kabaddi titles, including eight of nine men’s titles, will face South Korea in their second group match on Tuesday.
The Indian women’s kabaddi team also opened its title defence with a convincing 42-21 win over Bangladesh in their Group A fixture. Sanju Devi led the attack, while Manisha Kumari, Sonali Shingate and captain Pushpa Rana made important contributions as India took a 21-10 lead at half-time.
India maintained the pressure in the second half and inflicted another all-out. Bangladesh briefly narrowed the gap, but a series of successful raids by Sanju Devi restored India’s advantage.
In badminton, India defeated Bangladesh 3-0 without dropping a game to enter the men’s team quarter-finals. Lakshya Sen beat Jaman Ayman Ibn 21-4, 21-12, Ayush Shetty defeated Gourab Singha 21-4, 21-13, while Kidambi Srikanth sealed the tie with a 21-15, 21-9 win over Jumar Al-Amin.
India will face hosts Japan in the quarter-finals on Tuesday, with a victory guaranteeing a medal. The Indian women’s team will also face Japan in the last eight after defeating Kazakhstan 3-0 in their opening tie. In women’s hockey, India produced another dominant display, thrashing Indonesia 17-1 in their Pool B match at the Gifu Prefectural Green Stadium. Deepika, Rutuja Pisal and Navneet Kaur scored hat-tricks as India registered their second consecutive victory after a 19-0 win over Uzbekistan.
India led 9-0 at half-time and continued their dominance after the break to complete a 17-1 victory. The result kept India at the top of Pool B with six points from two matches and a goal difference of 35.
The match also saw former captain Savita create history by earning her 321st senior international cap, the most by an Indian women’s player, moving ahead of Vandana Katariya’s 320.
India will next face Thailand on Wednesday.
In wushu, Aryan and two-time Asian Games medallist Roshibina Devi progressed to the quarter-finals after winning their respective 1/8 finals at the Aichi Prefectural Martial Arts Hall.
Aryan defeated Afghanistan’s Safi Shahzada 2-0 in the men’s 56kg pre-quarterfinal, while Roshibina defeated Bangladesh’s Shika Khatun by point difference in the women’s 60kg category.
Both Indians will compete in the quarter-finals on Tuesday, with a victory taking them into the semi-finals and securing a medal.
Earlier, India’s Nyeman Wangsu finished 15th in the women’s Changquan final. Suraj Singh Mayanglambam finished 11th in the men’s Changquan final, missing the bronze-medal position by just 0.040 points after scoring 9.683.
India also secured a 3-0 win over Pakistan in women’s table tennis to top Group F and enter the quarter-finals with three wins from three matches. Sutirtha Mukherjee, Syndrela Das and Sreeja Akula each won their singles matches in straight games.
The Indian men’s team, meanwhile, opened with a 3-0 win over Indonesia before losing 0-3 to Iran. They will face Pakistan in their final group match.
The Asian Games table tennis programme features seven gold medals across the men’s and women’s singles, doubles, team events and mixed doubles, with the final medal events scheduled for September 28.