Asian Games Medal Glory: Indian athletes studying at Lovely Professional University (LPU) have delivered eight medal winning performances at the 20th Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, with the achievements coming across shooting, weightlifting and rowing. Elavenil Valarivan has secured two silver medals in shooting, one in the Women’s 10m Air Rifle Individual event and another as part of the Women’s 10m Air Rifle Team. Himanshu Dhillon has also won two silver medals, one in the Men’s 10m Air Rifle Individual event and another as part of the team event. Saikhom Mirabai Chanu has secured silver in the Women’s 49 kg weightlifting event, while Sonam Uttam Maskar and Vidarsa K. Vinod have contributed to a silver medal as members of the Women’s 10m Air Rifle Team. In rowing, Satnam Singh and Salman Khan also contributed to India’s medal tally, winning a bronze medal in the event.
With 14 medals won by India at the Games so far, eight medal-winning performances have come from LPU student athletes, highlighting the contribution of athletes pursuing higher education alongside high-level competitive sport. Beyond the medal winners, 58 students of LPU are representing India across 15 sports at the Asian Games, reflecting the university’s broad representation across multiple sporting disciplines.
The medal winning performances also underline the breadth of sporting talent represented by athletes associated with the university. Elavenil Valarivan’s two silver medals and Himanshu Dhillon’s two medal-winning performances in shooting stand alongside the silver medals secured by Saikhom Mirabai Chanu, Sonam Uttam Maskar and Vidarsa K. Vinod, as well as the bronze medal won by Satnam Singh and Salman Khan in rowing. Their achievements demonstrate how athletes can continue competing at the highest levels while pursuing their education alongside their sporting careers.
Speaking on the role of universities in supporting sporting talent, Dr Ashok Kumar Mittal, Founder Chancellor, LPU, stated, “Our vision is to build an ecosystem where sporting talent receives the same depth of institutional support as academic excellence. This means providing athletes with professional training, access to modern facilities and the flexibility to pursue education alongside high-performance sport. Universities can play a defining role in strengthening India’s sporting future by creating pathways that take young talent from the campus to the world stage.”
The 58 LPU athletes span 15 sports, with the largest representation coming from Canoeing & Kayaking (10), Shooting (9), Hockey (8), Wrestling (7), Rowing (6), Archery (5), Athletics (3), Boxing (3), Aquatics/Swimming (1), Badminton (1), Cricket (1), Weightlifting (1), Karate (1), Rugby (1) and Wushu (1). The medal performances in shooting, weightlifting and rowing add to this broad representation, showing the range of disciplines in which LPU students are competing at the continental level.
LPU’s sporting ecosystem is designed to allow athletes to pursue competitive sport alongside higher education. The university provides access to specialised sporting infrastructure, professional coaching, sports scholarships, performance-focused training and academic support, enabling student athletes to balance their sporting commitments with their education. Its sports ecosystem spans disciplines including athletics, shooting, fencing, boxing, hockey, wrestling, weightlifting, karate, judo, badminton, archery and several other sports. LPU also provides sports-based scholarships and financial support for athletes based on their sporting performance, along with access to sports facilities. Such institutional support can help athletes maintain their training and competition pathways while continuing their academic journeys.
The Asian Games achievements build on LPU’s recent presence on the international sporting stage. At the Paris 2024 Olympics, 24 LPU students represented India, accounting for 21% of the Indian Olympic contingent, while 13 LPU students represented the country at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, including athletes from hockey, athletics, wrestling and javelin. With 58 students representing India at the 2026 Asian Games and eight medal-winning performances recorded among LPU student-athletes, the university’s latest sporting participation further highlights the role of higher education institutions in creating pathways for athletes to compete at major international events.
