Vaibhav Sooryavanshi scripts history, becomes youngest Indian to win Asian Games gold at 15

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi became the youngest Indian to win an Asian Games gold medal on Saturday after India beat Pakistan by 19 runs in the men’s cricket final at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin. Born on March 27, 2011, the Bihar opener was 15 years, six months and six days old when the gold was decided. He took the overall record from shooter Saurabh Chaudhary, who won the men’s 10m air pistol title at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta at 16 years, three months and nine days.

How India beat Pakistan in the gold-medal match

Captain Shreyas Iyer chose to bat. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi opened and was off in a hurry. He hit Saad Masood for two sixes before the left-arm spinner was taken out of the attack after an opening over that cost 24. On the first ball of the third over, Sooryavanshi tried a reverse sweep against Saim Ayub and was caught behind by Usman Khan for 15 off nine balls. Ayub marked the wicket with a rocking-baby celebration.

The innings did not slow. Abhishek Sharma made 61 off 28 balls, with seven sixes, and raced to a 20-ball fifty. Tilak Varma finished unbeaten on 51 off 22, and Shivam Dube added a late 27 off 15. India closed on 211/6, the highest total of the Aichi-Nagoya cricket competition.

Pakistan never quite got away. They slipped to 39/3, and Hasan Nawaz’s 96 off 51 balls, with seven sixes, was left to carry the chase almost alone. He fell on the last ball. Pakistan finished on 192/6. Axar Patel and Washington Sundar each took 2 for 29, and Dube took 2 for 33. India defended the title they won in Hangzhou in 2023. The women’s side had already taken gold, so India completed a cricket double in Nagoya.

Where Vaibhav Sooryavanshi sits on India’s age list

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is now the youngest Indian gold medallist at the Games, and the only 15-year-old to win one. Chaudhary still holds a separate mark. His 2018 gold was an individual title, so he remains the youngest Indian to win an individual Asian Games gold. Sooryavanshi’s medal came with the men’s cricket team.

Roller skater Sanjana Bathula was 15 years, three months and 11 days old when she won bronze in the women’s 3000m speed skating relay at Hangzhou in 2023. Squash player Anahat Singh is next among the youngest medallists. She won bronze in the women’s team event in 2023 at 15 years, six months and 16 days.

What he did before the final

This was Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s first Asian Games. The quarterfinal against Afghanistan was washed out, so he batted only twice. In the semifinal against Sri Lanka, he made 38 off 21 balls. India then bowled Sri Lanka out for 45 and won by 124 runs. Across those two innings, he scored 53 runs at a strike rate of 176.66.

The gold sits on a list of age records that already looks crowded. He became the youngest player in IPL history at 14 years and 23 days in 2025, and the youngest centurion in men’s T20 cricket at 14 years and 32 days.