Aichi-Nagoya [Japan], October 3 (ANI): An India-Pakistan cricket final, Olympic qualification spots in hockey and archery, and a cluster of medal opportunities in wrestling will headline India's schedule on Day 14 of the Asian Games 2026 here on Saturday.
The Indian men's cricket team will take on arch-rivals Pakistan in the gold medal match at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin from 10 am IST. India, the defending champions, will look to finish the cricket competition with another gold after reaching the final with a convincing semifinal victory over Sri Lanka, according to Olympics.com.
The men's hockey team will also be in action for gold, facing Malaysia at 3:30 pm IST. Apart from the Asian Games title, the match carries an additional incentive, with the winner securing a direct quota for the LA 2028 Olympics.
India's archers will have multiple opportunities to secure an Olympic quota on the final day of the individual recurve events. Reaching the final in the individual competition guarantees the athlete's National Olympic Committee a quota for LA 2028.
Kumkum Mohod will begin India's campaign in the women's individual recurve quarterfinal against South Korea's Kang Chae-young at 5:30 am IST. If she progresses, the semifinals and medal rounds will follow.
In the men's individual recurve event, Dhiraj Bommadevara will face Uzbekistan's Amirkhon Sadikov in the quarterfinal at 9:30 am IST, while Neeraj Chauhan takes on Bhutan's Lam Dorji at 10:15 am IST. The men's semifinals and medal rounds will follow later in the morning.
Wrestling will offer another major medal haul for India, with several established names taking the mat after Sujeet Kalkal's gold medal-winning performance in the men's 65kg category on Friday.
Olympic medallist Aman Sehrawat will compete in the men's freestyle 57kg category, while Sagar Jaglan and Deepak Punia will feature in the 74kg and 97kg categories respectively.
World Championships medallist Antim Panghal will compete in the women's 53kg category, while Manisha Bhanwala will be in action in the women's 57kg event.
The opening rounds begin at 7:23 am IST, with the medal bouts scheduled from the afternoon. Aman Sehrawat's 57kg medal bout is scheduled for 2:37 pm IST, followed by Sagar Jaglan at 3 pm IST, Deepak Punia at 3:18 pm IST, Antim Panghal at 3:48 pm IST, and Manisha Bhanwala at 4:09 pm IST, subject to qualification.
Golf will also be under the spotlight, with Pranavi Urs entering the final round of the women's individual event with a three-shot lead. Aditi Ashok, who won silver at the 2022 Asian Games, had surrendered a seven-shot advantage in the final round at Hangzhou, and Pranavi will aim to avoid a similar finish.
Aditi, Diksha Dagar and Pranavi will also compete in the women's team event, while Yuvraj Sandhu, Veer Ahlawat and Saptak Talwar will feature in the men's team and individual competitions.
There are further medal opportunities in taekwondo, with Kashish Malik competing in the women's 57kg category and Jyoti Yadav in the women's +67kg event. Both begin their campaigns in the morning, with the medal rounds scheduled in the afternoon if they progress.
India's women's rugby sevens team will face Singapore in the 5th-8th place qualification match at 6:20 am IST, while the men's volleyball team will take on Thailand in the fifth-place match at 9:30 am IST.
Sailing will also see Mahi Verma compete in the girls' dinghy and Katya Coelho in women's windsurfing, rounding out a packed penultimate day for the Indian contingent at Aichi-Nagoya.
With several medal events and Olympic quotas at stake, Saturday promises to be another significant day for India as the Asian Games enter their final stretch. (ANI)
Asian Games: Cricket final against Pakistan, LA 2028 quotas headline India's Day 14
