Harmanpreet Kaur wishes for a surge of gold medals for India at the ongoing Asian Games 2026 after her women’s cricket team won one and opened the gates for the coveted prize.
India beat Sri Lanka in the final on Tuesday (Sep 22) and retained their gold medal at the Asiad in Aichi-Nagoya. India beat Japan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in three knockout matches to stand tall in the end. Harmanpreet says winning gold is an athlete’s dream, and she expressed immense pride in securing India’s opening gold.
“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 after India defeated Sri Lanka by 147 runs.
“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 continued.
An ODI World Cup winner and a multi-time Asia Cup champion, captain Harmanpreet placed retaining Asiad gold amongst the top achievements. Sounding grateful for India’s first gold medal in this edition, Harmanpreet expects more for women’s cricket in the coming years with advanced facilities.
“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 that in future, facilities-wise, stadium-wise and crowd-wise, these things will improve,” she said.
Delighted to have two gold medals framed back home, the decorated Indian women’s captain added, “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.”