India’s campaign at the Asian Games 2026 continued with a packed Day 5 on Wednesday, September 23, with medals coming in shooting, soft tennis and weightlifting. Mirabai Chanu ended her long wait for an Asian Games medal by winning silver in the women’s 49kg weightlifting event, while Jay Meena created history by securing India’s first-ever Asian Games medal in soft tennis.The day also saw Manu Bhaker compete in the women’s 10m air pistol event. The Indian shooter qualified for the individual final but finished fifth and missed out on a medal. India’s men’s badminton team is also facing China in the semifinal, with a place in the gold medal match at stake.Key HighlightsMirabai Chanu won silver in the women’s 49kg weightlifting category.Chanu lifted a total of 198kg, including 87kg in snatch and 111kg in clean and jerk.Jay Meena secured India’s first-ever Asian Games soft tennis medal.India’s women’s skeet team won bronze.Manu Bhaker finished fifth in the women’s 10m air pistol final.India’s men’s badminton team is taking on China in the semifinal.Several Indian athletes are also competing in hockey, kabaddi, fencing, squash and wushu.Mirabai Chanu Wins Silver in 49kg WeightliftingMirabai Chanu finally opened her Asian Games medal account with a silver medal in the women’s 49kg category.The Indian weightlifter lifted 87kg in the snatch and followed it with 111kg in the clean and jerk for a combined total of 198kg.North Korea’s Ri Song Gum won the gold medal after recording a total lift of 215kg. Chanu’s silver is her first Asian Games medal after finishing fourth at Hangzhou 2023 and withdrawing from the 2018 edition because of injury.The result makes Mirabai Chanu’s silver one of the major talking points from Asian Games 2026 Day 5.Manu Bhaker Finishes FifthManu Bhaker was another major Indian name in action on Day 5. She competed alongside Esha Singh and Suruchi Inder Singh in the women’s 10m air pistol qualification.Bhaker managed to reach the individual final, but she finished fifth and could not add another medal to India’s tally. Esha Singh and Suruchi Inder Singh did not qualify for the final.Bhaker had entered the event as one of India’s leading medal contenders following her Olympic success, making her performance one of the closely followed events of the day.India Wins Medals in ShootingIndia also added a medal in shooting early on Day 5.Raiza Dhillon, Parinaaz Dhaliwal and Maheshwari Chauhan won the bronze medal in the women’s skeet team event. The result took India’s shooting medal tally to six at that stage of the Games.The Indian shooting contingent has remained one of the country's major medal contributors at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.Jay Meena Creates History in Soft TennisJay Meena produced another major moment for India by assuring the country its first-ever Asian Games medal in soft tennis.Meena defeated the Philippines’ Sherwin Nuguit in the men’s singles quarterfinal to enter the semifinals. He later lost to Japan’s Takuya Kurosaka in the semifinal, earning a bronze medal.The historic result added another medal to India’s Asian Games campaign.India vs China in Men’s Badminton SemifinalIndia’s men’s badminton team is also involved in one of the biggest contests of the day against China in the semifinal.The Indian team has already secured a medal by reaching the last four. The semifinal lineup includes Lakshya Sen, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty, Ayush Shetty, Hariharan Amsakarunan-MR Arjun and Kidambi Srikanth.The winner will advance to the gold medal match, while the losing team will take the bronze.(READ MORE :Asian Games 2026: PV Sindhu Loses to Akane Yamaguchi, India Exit After 1-3 Defeat to Japan)More Indian Athletes in ActionThe Asian Games 2026 Day 5 schedule features Indian participation across several sports. Along with shooting, weightlifting and badminton, athletes are competing in hockey, kabaddi, fencing, rowing, squash, wushu, table tennis, canoe sprint and swimming.The women’s hockey team is facing Thailand, while India’s kabaddi teams are also involved in group-stage matches. Wushu athlete Roshibina Devi is competing in the women’s Sanda 60kg semifinal.With several medal events and knockout matches still taking place, India’s medal tally is expected to change through the rest of Day 5.Asian Games 2026 Day 5: What’s Next for India?With Mirabai Chanu already securing silver and Jay Meena adding a historic soft tennis bronze, India has strengthened its medal count on Day 5.Attention now remains on the remaining events, particularly the men’s badminton semifinal against China and other potential medal opportunities in shooting, fencing, wushu and swimming.The Asian Games 2026 campaign continues in Aichi-Nagoya, with Indian athletes competing across multiple disciplines through the day.
