India's Tejaswin Shankar remains in contention for a decathlon podium finish at the Asian Games 2026 in Nagoya, holding on to the overall lead at the halfway stage of the gruelling ten-event contest.Shankar finished third in his 110m hurdles heat on Sunday morning, clocking 14.33 seconds to earn 932 points. Despite the third-place finish, he retains the overall lead with 5,270 points.
How the leaderboard looks
The hurdles heat was won by Japan's Yuma Maruyama in 14.00 seconds (975 points), closely followed by China's Chen Xinghua in 14.01 seconds (973 points).
After the morning session, Chen sits second overall with 5,223 points, while Maruyama is third on 5,163 points — setting up a tight battle across the remaining five events of the decathlon.
India's packed Day 8
Shankar's campaign is part of a packed Day 8 for India at the Aichi-Nagoya Games. Squash takes centre stage later in the day, with Abhay Singh and Anahat Singh both assured of at least silver medals as they play their singles finals against Malaysian opponents.
P.V. Sindhu features in the women's singles badminton quarterfinals, while shooters Manu Bhaker, Esha Singh and Rahi Sarnobat are in action in the women's 25m pistol qualification. India's compound archery teams will face South Korea in the semifinals on September 30.
India has so far won 30 medals at the Games, comprising four gold, 12 silver and 14 bronze.
Sources:
NDTV Sports: Asian Games 2026 Day 8 LIVE Updates
The Hindu: Asian Games 2026 LIVE updates on September 27