Indian women's cricket team defeated Sri Lanka by 147 runs to win the gold medal.
The Indian women's cricket team defeated Sri Lanka by 147 runs to win the gold medal at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.
This dominant victory secured India’s first gold medal of the 2026 Games and marked a successful defense of the title they previously won in 2023.
After the triumph, India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur hoped that it will open the floodgates of gold medals for the country at the continental event.
“It feels good to get a gold medal. For any athlete, it’s a dream. Our team has opened the gate of gold medals. The more gold medals India wins, the better for us. We are going back (to India) tomorrow. But, we will definitely follow (other events),” Harmanpreet said, as quoted by The Indian Express.
“It’s a big thing for me, and for the team (to win gold). Since we came here, we had only one aim — to take the gold medal from here. We want to see our flag fly high and the national anthem sung. But, we didn’t know, we will be the first one to get the gold. I am sure the other athletes will win a lot of gold medals,” she added.
Opting to bat first, India posted a historic 216/3—the highest total in Asian Games cricket history. Opener Smriti Mandhana spearheaded the innings with a brilliant 79 off 45 balls, complemented by Shafali Verma's explosive 48 off 29 balls and an unbeaten 49 off 22 balls from Richa Ghosh.
In reply, the Indian bowling unit completely dismantled the Sri Lankan lineup, bundling them out for a mere 69 runs in 15.4 overs. Deepti Sharma led with 3 wickets for 6 runs, while Shafali, Shree Charani, and Shreyanka Patil choked the run flow by picking up two wickets each.
Harmanpreet expressed immense pride in how the current generation has successfully participated in back-to-back multi-sport editions (following the 2023 Games in Hangzhou), paving a brighter future for the growth and infrastructural improvement of cricket in multi-sport global events.
“As a cricketer, we always wanted to be part of the Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and Olympics because we have always participated in bilateral series, World Cup and Asia Cup. But we didn’t know how it feels when you play for a medal. We didn’t have much experience with those things. But thankfully, we got a chance to play in the last two editions. Before us, so many cricketers came, but they didn’t get that chance. I am sure in future, facilities-wise, stadium-wise and crowd-wise, these things will improve,” she stated.
In a lighthearted comment, Kaur noted that while traditional tournament trophies are sent straight to the BCCI office, these individual medals are special because the players get to personally keep and frame them at home.
“And now, at least we can also frame two medals back home because when we win trophies, they go to the (BCCI) office. They don’t come back to us. But this is something which belongs to us,” she remarked.