Nagoya, 02 October (H.S.): India’s men’s quadrant team secured the bronze medal in sepaktakraw at the 2026 Asian Games after suffering a 0-2 defeat to Japan in the semifinal at the Nagoya City Mizuho Park Gymnasium on Friday. India had already assured itself of a bronze medal by reaching the last four.

The Indian quadrant team comprised Malemnganba Singh Sorokhaibam, Ram Kumar Sharma, Bobby Kumar and Akash Yumnam, with Lokhon Singh Elangbam and Tekong Arun named as substitutes. Japan fielded Yuki Sato, Ryota Haruhara, Wataru Narawa and Yota Ichikawa.

The semifinal was closely fought, with Japan edging the opening game 15-12. India put up another strong challenge in the second game, but the Japanese team held its nerve in the crucial stages to prevail 15-13 and book its place in the gold-medal match.

The bronze medal is India’s third medal in sepaktakraw at the Asian Games. India had previously won bronze in the men’s team regu event at the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games, before the Indian women’s team secured another bronze in the regu event at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou.

The Indian men’s quadrant team had produced an impressive performance in the group stage, finishing at the top of Group A with three victories. India recorded a notable win over reigning World Cup champions Myanmar and also defeated Vietnam and Laos to qualify for the semifinals.

India’s women’s quadrant campaign, meanwhile, ended in the group stage. The team finished fourth in Group A after losing all three of its matches. In the women’s doubles event, India also finished fourth in Group B and failed to win a single game across its three matches. The men’s regu team likewise failed to advance to the knockout stage, finishing third in Group B with one win and two defeats.

India added six medals on Friday, taking its overall tally at the Asian Games to 72 — 12 gold, 25 silver and 35 bronze medals. The day’s medal haul included gold medals for boxer Lovlina Borgohain in the women’s 75kg category and India’s women’s recurve archery team comprising Ankita Bhakat, Kirti Sharma and Kumkum Mohod.

In archery, Ankita Bhakat, Kirti Sharma and Kumkum Mohod defeated South Korea to win India’s first-ever gold medal in the women’s recurve team event at the Asian Games. Kumkum Mohod and Dhiraj Bommadevara won silver in the mixed recurve team event, while Dhiraj, Neeraj Chauhan and Yashdeep Bhoge claimed silver in the men’s recurve team event.

In sailing, Nethra Kumanan secured the bronze medal in the women’s dinghy event, while the sepaktakraw men’s quadrant team added another bronze to India’s medal tally.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar