Asian Games
Asian Games 2026 Day 2: Srihari reaches swimming final as India advances in table tennis
Srihari Nataraj reached the 50m backstroke final while India advanced in table tennis, boxing and kabaddi on a busy second day at the Asian Games.
Srihari Nataraj has been training for the Asian Aquatic Championship in Ahmedabad. (Photo credit: Srihari Nataraj/Instagram)
India continued their campaign at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games with several teams and athletes making progress on a busy Monday, while Srihari Nataraj booked his place in the men’s 50m backstroke final.
The two-time Olympian clocked 25.37 seconds to finish third in his heat and joint ninth overall, securing a place in the final. Rishabh Das, who finished sixth in the 100m backstroke on Sunday, narrowly missed out after clocking 25.41 seconds to finish 11th overall and end up as the reserve.
In the 50m freestyle, Akash Mani finished 26th with 23.43 seconds, while Geetesh Shah was 28th in 23.57 seconds. South Korea’s Youngbeom Kim set a Games record of 21.71 seconds. Danush Suresh also missed out on the 100m backstroke final after finishing 22nd overall in 1:03.46.
The Indian women’s table tennis team swept Pakistan 3-0 to top Group F and reach the quarterfinals. Sutirtha Mukherjee, 17-year-old Syndrela Das and Sreeja Akula won their respective singles matches without dropping a game.
In boxing, Sumit Kundu advanced to the pre-quarterfinals of the 70kg category with a unanimous 5-0 win over Thailand’s Bunjong Sinsiri. He will next face Iraq’s Ali Qasim Hamdan Al-Sarra.
India’s kabaddi men began their title defence with a commanding 49-24 win over hosts Japan. Ayan Lohchab and Devank Dalal led the raiding effort as India built a 31-9 half-time lead. India next face South Korea.
There was disappointment in soft tennis, where Aadhya Tiwari and Jay Meena lost 2-5 to the Philippines in the mixed doubles round of 16 despite reaching the knockouts after two group-stage wins.
The men’s sepak takraw team also suffered a 1-2 defeat against hosts Japan after squandering an early lead. India will face Malaysia on Tuesday.