CNN Central News & Network-ITDC India Epress/ITDC News Bhopal: China’s 169 golds against India’s 21: why is the gap so wide?
New Delhi. At the Asian Games 2026, China once again displayed its sporting strength by winning 341 medals, including 169 golds. India finished fourth with a total of 85 medals, including 21 gold, 27 silver and 37 bronze. Compared with China, India’s gold-medal tally was nearly eight times lower. The question is why there is such a wide gap in sporting standards between two of the world’s most populous countries. The answer does not lie in population alone. China’s sports structure covers a large number of sports and medal events. At the Asian Games, China participated in more sports than India and has a larger competitive base of athletes. A strong presence across more sports has a direct impact on the medal table.
One of India’s major weaknesses has been maintaining consistent top-level performances across several individual Olympic events. This time, India performed well in archery, boxing and wrestling, but traditional medal sources such as shooting and athletics did not deliver golds as expected. Even so, India secured 85 medals and showed new strength in some sports. The positive for India was that archery brought nine medals, including five golds, while boxing delivered three golds and wrestling two. In cricket, kabaddi and hockey too, India won gold medals in both the men’s and women’s categories.
According to experts, for India to match China, it will have to focus not only on increasing the medal count but also on broader participation in sports, grassroots talent identification, world-class training, better coaching and increasing the number of athletes capable of winning medals in individual events. Sustained work in these areas before the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics will be important for India.
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