India's athletes performed exceptionally well at the recent Asian Games in Japan, winning a total of 85 medals including 21 golds, 27 silvers, and 37 bronzes. Among notable success stories are Neeru Dhanda, who won two gold medals in trap shooting despite coming from a family that relies on government food subsidies, and Vithya Ramraj, whose father had to borrow money to support her athletics career, earning three medals including a national record-breaking performance in 400m hurdles. These athletes' achievements highlight the potential impact of recognition and institutional support for sports beyond cricket in India.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-06,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
In a country where cricket eclipses every other sport, the recently concluded Asian Games offered a much-needed reminder of India’s breadth of sporting talent.
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Games → eclipse → talent
In this edition of the games, in Japan, India won 85 medals: 21 golds, 27 silver and 37 bronze medals.
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India → win → medals
I admit I did not know many of the players competing, or even some of the sports they play before putting this piece together.
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they → admit → piece
Learning about the stories, I wonder why not.
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I → learn → stories
There were individual breakthroughs, records broken and history made.
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records → be → ?
Sports broadcaster Siddharth Pandey cited an old saying in the world of sport: “You cannot be what you cannot see.”
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you → cite → what
For Pandey, one of the most heartening sights was families and communities rallying around the four female players from the north-eastern states.
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one → rally → states
(The region has endured decades of conflict and is often overlooked in the national conversation.)
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region → endure → conversation
“We simply cannot underestimate the impact these games and medals have on future generations taking up non-cricketing sport and wanting to excel in it,” he told me.
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he → underestimate → me
Vidya Pillai, the first Indian woman to win a snooker world championship has spoken about her sport not getting the attention or respect it deserves.
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it → win → attention
She felt unacknowledged following her 2023 feat, despite the fact that it came after six unsuccessful world finals and she beat two former world champions along the way.
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she → feel → way
Behind India’s medal glory are dozens of athletes and families who have struggled financially, trained with limited facilities, and often without much institutional support.
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who → struggle → support
So this week, I am sharing a sample of the many extraordinary stories from different parts of the country.
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I → share → country
These are only a fraction of the champions to emerge from the games, yet they provide a glimpse of the possibilities that can open up when a country sees and celebrates sporting talent across the spectrum.
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country → emerge → spectrum
Dhanda’s family in Haryana’s Jind relies on the government’s food subsidy programme and she began her sporting journey using a borrowed shotgun with tin cans as targets.
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she → rely → targets
Right before the games began, the 26-year-old spent a few days in a hospital recovering from an illness instead of training.
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old → begin → illness
But last week, as rain lashed the shooting range in Urenocho, she became the first Indian woman to win an individual gold in trap shooting at Asian games.
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she → lash → games
She won a second gold in mixed team trap event as well as a silver in the women’s team trap event.
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She → win → event
NDTV reported that her father had to borrow money to support Ramraj and her twin sister’s athletic careers.
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father → report → careers
Alongside the team gold in 4x400m, she won a silver in the mixed 4x400m relay.
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she → win → relay
She also broke Indian legend PT Usha’s long-held national record in 400m hurdles which won her a bronze medal.
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which → break → medal
Not long ago, Jadhav contemplated quitting archery, frustrated by not making the progress he had hoped for.
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he → contemplate → progress
He had been forced to compete with borrowed arrows for selection trials, the New Indian Express reported, adding that his mother sold her jewellery to buy him professional compound bows.
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mother → force → bows
Now, the 25-year-old has two gold medals and an automatic entry to the 2028 LA Olympics.
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old → have → Olympics
Lalremsiami Hmarzote (member of the gold-winning women’s hockey team): The women’s hockey team forward once had to travel about 100 miles from her home to reach the only hockey academy in Mizoram.
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forward → win → Mizoram
When she was growing up, her parents had no idea about what hockey and she played barefoot on dirt pitches.
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she → grow → pitches
This month, playing her 200th international appearance, the 26-year-old struck gold.
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old → play → gold
She scored the lone goal of the final against China, which Hockey India described as a “stunning reverse-stick strike”.
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India → score → strike
With colourful beads glistening in her hair, Sojan flung herself 6.53 metres in long jump, to win the silver medal.
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Sojan → glisten → medal
Earlier this year, the 25-year-old broke the national record set in 2004.
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old → break → 2004
Last year, she was diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome, forcing her to drastically change her diet and manage the medication-related weight gain she had before the tournament.
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she → diagnose → tournament
Inamdar came to kabaddi, a south Asian contact sport combining elements of tag and wrestling, from humble beginnings – he was partly drawn to it because it was affordable and didn’t require expensive equipment.
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it → come → equipment
Coming from a village in Maharashtra’s Ahilyanagar, he worked odd jobs – from cleaning washrooms to working in the fields – so he could spend evenings training.
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he → come → evenings
“It still feels like a dream to me,” Inamdar told the Indian Express.
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Inamdar → feel → Express
“I often think about how someone who didn’t even have food at home now holds two international medals.”
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who → think → medals
The 26-year-old was instrumental in helping India win their gold-medal match against Iran.
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India → help → Iran
I would love to hear from you: which sportsperson from the Asian Games did you find most inspiring and why?
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you → love → Games
What else we’re reading about
Flydubai incident |
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we → read → incident
Indian pilot Smit Machchar is being hailed as a hero for helping to save 174 passengers on the flydubai flight to Israel last week, after his co-pilot made an apparent effort to crash the plane.
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pilot → hail → plane
After being stabbed, Machchar opened the cockpit door, allowing passengers and crew to enter and overpower the attacker.
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passengers → stab → attacker
…and 25 more, not listed.
The Aporia
