Nishio, (Japan) Indian combat sport athletes and recurve archers delivered an exceptional performance at the Asian Games 2026 on Friday, clinching five gold medals to record one of the nation’s most successful single-day outings in Asiad history.

Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain set the tone for the morning, celebrating her 29th birthday with a historic victory in the women’s 75kg boxing event at the Nishio Gymnasium. Lovlina outclassed China’s Bao Ziyi 5-0 by unanimous decision to become only the second Indian woman boxer after the legendary Mary Kom to win a gold medal at the Asian Games.

Building on the momentum, 26-year-old Parveen Hooda secured India’s second boxing gold in the women’s 65kg category with a hard-fought victory over Chinese Taipei’s Nien-chin Che. The Rohtak-born boxer, who won the opening round 5-0 before dropping the second by the same margin, showed remarkable composure in the decider to earn a 3-2 split decision victory.

Ankush Panghal completed the boxing golden treble in the men’s 80kg final, delivering a dominant performance to defeat South Korea’s Minseong Kim 4-0. Panghal controlled the contest with sharp counter-punching and aggressive combinations, taking the first round 4-1 and second round 5-0 after Kim was docked a point for a warning in the opening frame.

Panghal’s victory brought a triumphant end to India’s boxing campaign at the Aichi-Nagoya Games, with the contingent collecting six medals, including three gold and three bronze. Lovlina had earlier advanced to the final after edging past Kazakhstan’s Natalya Bogdanova 3-2 in a tight semifinal, while Parveen added this historic Asiad gold to her growing list of international achievements, including a World Cup gold in 2025 and a World Championship bronze in 2022.

Meanwhile, at the Nagoya City Inae Sports Center, 23-year-old wrestler Sujeet Kalkal scripted an astonishing late comeback in the men’s freestyle 65kg category to secure India’s first wrestling gold of the Games. Trailing 2-9 against Tajikistan’s Abdulmazhid Kudiyev in the final minutes, Kalkal mounted an intense rally to score eight consecutive points, snatching a dramatic 10-9 victory.

Kalkal’s gold medal crowned a grueling campaign during which he systematically defeated top-tier opposition, including an Olympic champion and elite wrestlers from Iran and Japan. In his opening bout, the Indian wrestler recovered from an early 0-3 deficit against Afghanistan’s Sayed Omar Zazai, executing a series of high-scoring throws and rolls to secure a 13-3 technical superiority win. He followed it up with a masterclass against Iran’s Abbas Ebrahimzadehsavadkouhi in the quarterfinals, winning by technical superiority without conceding a single point to march into the final.

At the Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Multipurpose Square in Okazaki, the Indian women’s recurve team of Ankita Bhakat, Kumkum Mohod, and Kirti Sharma created history by defeating 10-time champions South Korea 5-3 to win India’s first-ever women’s recurve team gold medal at the Asian Games. Marking their first appearance in an Asiad recurve team final, the Indian trio held their nerve in challenging conditions to overcome the world powerhouses who had not lost a final since 1982.

India opened their campaign with a 5-1 semifinal win over China to reach the final. In the title clash, the teams tied the opening set 54-54 before trading high-pressure shots in the second set to level at 2-2, powered by a crucial 10 from 17-year-old Kumkum. Capitalizing on three consecutive 8s from the Koreans in the third set, India secured a 4-2 lead. In the final set, Kirti and Ankita set up the decisive moment with consecutive 9s, allowing Kumkum to hit a brilliant 10 on the final arrow to seal the 5-3 victory.