Indian archers Dhiraj Bommadevara and Neeraj Chauhan progressed to the quarterfinals of the men’s recurve individual event at the Asian Games 2026 after securing victories in the Round of 16 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, on Tuesday.
Top seed Dhiraj defeated Chinese Taipei’s Cheng Hsiang-Hui 6-2, while Neeraj upset South Korea’s multiple Olympic medallist Kim Je Deok 6-4, ESPN reported.
Dhiraj, who had earlier beaten Philippines’ Girvin Garcia 6-0 in the Round of 32, encountered tougher resistance from Cheng but maintained composure to close out the match 6-2. He is scheduled to face Uzbekistan’s Amirkon Sadikov in the quarterfinals on October 3.
Neeraj’s victory over Kim, who had qualified second in the ranking round, was among the day’s notable results. Neeraj took an early 3-1 lead before Kim equalised at 3-3. Following a tied set to make it 4-4, Neeraj secured the deciding set and completed the 6-4 win. He will compete against Bhutan’s Dorji Lam in the quarterfinals.
Dhiraj’s earlier 6-0 win against Garcia was more straightforward, requiring only nine arrows with six shots landing in the 10-ring.
India’s surfing campaign ended after Kishore Kumar Anbarasu lost the men’s shortboard quarterfinal to Philippines’ Toby Espejon, who scored 8.53 to Kishore’s 5.37 from their two best waves.
India’s athletics programme offers further medal prospects on Tuesday. Gulveer Singh aims for a third medal in the men’s 5000m final after silver medals in the 1500m and 10,000m. Avinash Sable will also compete in the 5000m. Additionally, three Indian relay teams will participate in medal races, including the men’s and women’s 4x400m and mixed 4x100m finals.
In boxing, Parveen Hooda, Ankush Panghal and Narender Berwal will contest their respective semifinals, each assured at least a bronze medal. Parveen faces China’s Li Shu in the women’s 65kg semifinal, Ankush takes on Uzbekistan’s Fazliddin Erkinboev in the men’s 80kg category, and Narender meets Kazakhstan’s Aibek Oralbay in the men’s +90kg bout.
India will also compete in shooting, squash, volleyball, tennis, cycling, canoe slalom, sport climbing and kurash on Tuesday.