Asian Games 2026: Ganesh and Anish Shine in Aichi-Nagoya
Ganesh Mani Ratnam Thirumuru reaches archery semifinals and Anish Bhanwala enters pistol final at the Asian Games 2026.
India's archery and shooting campaigns saw significant momentum on Thursday at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, as Ganesh Mani Ratnam Thirumuru and Anish Bhanwala both secured spots in their respective finals.
Ganesh Mani Ratnam Thirumuru Dominates in Archery
In the men's compound individual quarterfinal, Ganesh Mani Ratnam Thirumuru delivered a masterclass in precision to defeat Chen Chieh-lun of Chinese Taipei. The Indian archer showcased incredible consistency to secure a 148-138 victory, booking his place in the semifinals.
The match was a display of nerves under pressure:
- Early Lead: Ganesh took an early advantage, leading 29-28 after the first end.
- Mid-Match Control: Despite a video review that reduced one of his 10s to a 9, the Indian maintained his composure to lead 58-56 after two ends and 88-85 after three ends.
- The Finishing Blow: Ganesh showed no signs of slowing down in the final stages, hitting two consecutive 10s in the fourth end. He closed the match with a spectacular sequence of straight 10s to seal the win.
While Ganesh moved forward, archer Chikitha Taniparthi narrowly missed out on the next round, falling 143-144 to Indonesia's Nurisa Dian Ashrifah in the women's compound individual quarterfinal.
Anish Bhanwala Secures Pistol Final Spot
In the shooting arena, Anish Bhanwala has advanced to the final of the men's 25m rapid fire pistol event. Although he finished ninth in the qualification stage with a total of 576 (including a final series of 94), he earned a place in the final due to the qualification rules.
Under the tournament regulations, only two shooters from a single country are allowed to qualify for the final. Because South Korea had three shooters among the top eight, Anish successfully moved into the medal contention.
Other Major Results from Day 1
India's medal tally continued to grow on Thursday with several notable performances across different disciplines:
- Sailing: Manu Francis and Prince Kurusinkal claimed a silver medal in the men's skiff event.
- Squash: The women's squash team secured a bronze medal after a hard-fought 1-2 loss to Hong Kong in the semifinals.
- Wrestling: Nitesh advanced to the Greco-Roman 97kg final after defeating Mongolia's Gankhuyag Ganbaatar. However, Mansi lost her semifinal to Japan's Nonoka Ozaki, moving into the bronze-medal match.
- Sepaktakraw: India confirmed a medal in the men's quadrant event by defeating Vietnam 2-0.
- Canoe Slalom: Shikha Chaouhan progressed to the women's kayak single final after finishing 10th in the semifinals.
In other results, tennis player Sumit Nagal exited the men's singles quarterfinals following a straight-sets defeat to China's Wu Yibing, while the Indian men's volleyball team was knocked out of the quarterfinals by Pakistan.