Puri hails India's archery hat-trick gold at Asian Games 2026
Synopsis
Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri celebrated India's four-gold haul at Asian Games 2026, spotlighting archers Sahil Jadhav, Kushal Dalal and Ganesh Mani Ratnam for their men's team gold in a brilliant hat-trick of archery golds.
Key Takeaways
India won four gold medals at Asian Games 2026 on 30 September 2026 .
Archery contributed a hat-trick of golds , leading India's charge for the day.
Sahil Jadhav, Kushal Dalal and Ganesh Mani Ratnam claimed gold in the men's team archery event .
Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri publicly congratulated the athletes on X.
India's performance reflects years of investment under the Khelo India scheme launched in 2017 .
India's overall Asian Games 2026 medal tally continues to grow with events still underway.
India's archers lit up Asian Games 2026 on Wednesday, 30 September with a stunning hat-trick of gold medals, anchoring a four-gold haul that had the country celebrating — and Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri leading the applause from the highest levels of government.
The hat-trick that headlined India's golden day
Puri took to X to salute Sahil Jadhav, Kushal Dalal, and Ganesh Mani Ratnam, the trio who combined to clinch gold in the men's team archery event. 'A Golden Day for India!' he wrote, calling the archery haul a 'brilliant hat-trick of golds' and the overall tally a 'blockbuster' performance. Three archery golds in a single day at a continental Games is the kind of headline that travels — and it did.
Archery's place in India's Asian Games story
Archery has long been one of India's more reliable medal-producing disciplines at the Asian Games, where the continental field is fiercely competitive. India's gradual improvement in successive editions of the Games has been supported in part by the Khelo India scheme, launched in 2017, which was designed to push grassroots talent toward elite performance on exactly these stages. Days like this are the intended dividend of that decade-long investment.
Four golds — and the tally is still climbing
The archery trio's triumph was part of a broader surge: India's total for the day stood at four gold medals across disciplines, a haul that underscores how the country's multi-sport programme has widened beyond its traditional strongholds. With events still ongoing at Asian Games 2026, the final medal count remains in motion — and the momentum, right now, is firmly India's.
For Jadhav, Dalal, and Ratnam, a team gold at the Asian Games is a career-defining moment. The minister's message — 'Take a bow, boys' — may be the most apt choice of words a senior politician has produced all week.
Point of View
Lending credibility to a sports-funding narrative the government has been keen to advance. For a senior BJP minister who is primarily associated with energy policy, the post also reflects a broader communications strategy: be visible at moments of national pride. The real story, however, belongs to three archers who delivered when it counted.
NationPress
30 Sept 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won the men's team archery gold at Asian Games 2026?
Sahil Jadhav, Kushal Dalal and Ganesh Mani Ratnam won gold for India in the men's team archery event at Asian Games 2026.
How many gold medals did India win on 30 September at Asian Games 2026?
India won four gold medals on 30 September 2026 at the Asian Games, with archery contributing three of those golds.
What did Hardeep Singh Puri say about Indian archers at Asian Games 2026?
Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri hailed a 'Golden Day for India' and congratulated Sahil Jadhav, Kushal Dalal and Ganesh Mani Ratnam for their 'spectacular performance' in winning the men's team archery gold.
What is the Khelo India scheme and how does it relate to Asian Games medals?
Khelo India is a government scheme launched in 2017 to develop grassroots sports talent and support elite athletes. India's improving medal tallies at successive Asian Games editions are partly attributed to the infrastructure and funding it provides.
Where are the Asian Games 2026 being held?
The specific host city of Asian Games 2026 is not confirmed in available information, but the event is the continental multi-sport Games held every four years under the Olympic Council of Asia.
