Asian Games 2026: Andhra athletes win three golds, a bronze

Athletes from Andhra Pradesh have bagged three gold medals and a bronze at the Asian Games in Japan so far, with archery, cricket and badminton all contributing to the tally.

Nine athletes from the State are competing, according to Ramana, Section Officer (Associations), Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh. They are badminton players P.V. Sindhu, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Kidambi Srikanth and Kavipriya Selvam; cricketer Sree Charani; archers Dhiraj Bommadevara, Thirumuru Ganesh Mani Ratnam and Jyothi Surekha Vennam; and hurdler Jyothi Yarraji.

On Wednesday, (September 30, 2026) Jyothi Surekha and Ganesh clinched gold as India swept all three compound archery team titles at Okazaki City. Jyothi Surekha, with Chikitha Taniparthi and Prithika Pradeep, beat China 238-234, equalling the world record. Ganesh, from Naidupeta in Tirupati district, joined Kushal Dalal and Sahil Jadhav to edge China 238-237 after overcoming South Korea in the semi-final.

President Droupadi Murmu told the women’s team that their “precision, composure and teamwork have made the nation proud”. Of the men’s win, she said, “Completing a clean sweep of Gold across all three Compound Team events, Indian archery has achieved a remarkable feat.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the women’s win “is even more special because their performance also equalled the World Record”. Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya called the men’s gold “a proud moment for Indian archery and for the entire nation”.

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said Ganesh’s “path from Naidupeta to international glory stands as a testament to what focus and hard work can accomplish”. Deputy Chief Minister K. Pawan Kalyan said the women’s team had “brought the Tricolour to the highest podium”. IT Minister Nara Lokesh called Ganesh’s journey “a matter of immense pride for our State”.

The men’s badminton team won bronze. Every member of the squad, including Satwiksairaj and Srikanth, receives a medal, Mr. Ramana said. India lost 3-1 to China in the semi-final at Ichinomiya.

For Jyothi Surekha, Wednesday’s gold is her sixth medal across four consecutive Asian Games: four gold, one silver and one bronze. “Her experience is a major advantage,” said her father, Surendra Kumar, speaking from Vijayawada.

Sport runs in the family, he said. She began swimming as a child and, at five, swam across the Krishna, a feat recorded in the Limca Book of Records. She took up archery at 12. “Because we have seen her go through that experience from childhood, her achievements do not seem entirely unexpected to us,” Mr. Surendra Kumar said.

The Volga Archery Academy in Vijayawada, run by Cherukuri Satyanarayana, has produced several of the State’s leading archers. Mr. Satyanarayana, Vice-President of the Archery Association of India and chairman of the A.P. Archery Association, attributed the archers’ success to discipline, concentration and timing.

Among its trainees is Dhiraj, who set an Asian Games record of 698 in the recurve ranking round and has reached the individual quarter-finals and the team semi-final.