Current Affairs - October 2, 2026 Current Affairs

India won the Asian Games 2026 women’s hockey gold medal by defeating China 1-0 in the final on October 2, 2026. Lalremsiami scored the decisive goal in the 10th minute with a reverse-stick shot after receiving a pass from Sakshi Rana. Goalkeeper Savita Punia also made a crucial penalty-stroke save in the 24th minute to preserve India’s lead. This victory ended India’s 44-year wait for the women’s hockey gold, with the previous title coming in 1982. The triumph also secured India’s direct qualification for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

Anup Bagchi was appointed as the Managing Director and CEO of HDFC Bank for a three-year term beginning October 27, 2026, following approval from the Reserve Bank of India. He will succeed Sashidhar Jagdishan, whose tenure ends on October 26, 2026. Bagchi has more than 30 years of experience across banking, capital markets, wealth management and insurance. He has been associated with the ICICI Group since 1992 and currently serves as MD and CEO of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance. He holds an engineering degree from IIT Kanpur and an MBA from IIM Bangalore. His HDFC Bank appointment remains subject to shareholders’ approval.

Lovlina Borgohain won the women’s 75kg boxing gold medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026. She defeated China’s Bao Ziyi by a score of 5-0 in the final, securing the title on her 29th birthday. Borgohain became the second Indian woman boxer to win an Asian Games gold medal, following MC Mary Kom’s achievement in the women’s 51kg category at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon. Earlier, Borgohain had won silver in the same 75kg category at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games. Her 2026 victory marked a significant progression from silver to gold on the Asian Games stage.

South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia will co-host the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2027. The tournament is scheduled to be held from October 2 to November 21, 2027, with 14 teams competing in 57 matches across 12 venues. South Africa and Zimbabwe have automatically qualified for the tournament as host nations, while Namibia will also host matches. The tournament will begin with a three-team Super Series in Windhoek, Namibia, from October 2 to 6. The Group Stage will start on October 7, with India facing defending champions Australia in Cape Town. The final is scheduled for November 21 in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Parveen Hooda won the gold medal in the women’s 65kg boxing category at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya. She defeated Chinese Taipei’s Nien-chin Che in the final to secure her maiden Asian Games medal. Parveen dominated the opening round with a 5-0 score, lost the second round 0-5, and then remained composed to win the decisive third round 3-2. Her victory made her the third Indian woman boxer to win an Asian Games gold medal, after MC Mary Kom and Lovlina Borgohain. India also secured two women’s boxing gold medals at the 2026 Asian Games through Parveen Hooda and Lovlina Borgohain.

Chhattisgarh is the state where NMDC Ltd commissioned its ₹5,427 crore integrated iron ore processing, slurry pipeline, and pellet-making project in the Bastar region. The project includes an iron ore processing plant at Bacheli, a 135-km slurry pipeline, and a 2 MTPA pellet plant at Nagarnar. The pipeline can transport 15 MTPA of iron ore and directly connects the Bacheli mines with the Nagarnar steel plant. Bastar is an important mining region known for high-grade hematite iron ore deposits and the Bailadila mines. NMDC is India’s largest iron ore producer and a Navratna public sector enterprise under the Ministry of Steel.

Rajasthan is the state where NTPC Green Energy Limited (NGEL) commissioned the 81.34 MW Kalasar Solar Energy Project in Bikaner district on September 26, 2026. The project is part of the 650 MW solar component of the 500 MW REMCL Round-The-Clock Project and is being developed by NTPC Renewable Energy Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of NGEL. Following the commissioning, the commercial capacity of the NTPC Green Energy group reached 10,977.23 MW. Rajasthan is a major solar power hub in India and is also home to Bhadla Solar Park, recognised as the world’s largest solar park.

October 2 is observed as the International Day of Non-Violence every year, coinciding with the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869, in Porbandar, Gujarat, and became one of the most influential advocates of non-violent resistance. The United Nations General Assembly declared October 2 as the International Day of Non-Violence through Resolution 61/271, adopted on June 15, 2007. The observance promotes peace, tolerance, human rights, understanding, democracy and respect for diversity. It also highlights Gandhi’s philosophy of Ahimsa and Satyagraha as important approaches to addressing injustice and conflict peacefully.

India won its maiden Asian Games gold medal in the women’s recurve archery team category at the 19th Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. The Indian team of Ankita Bhakat, Kirti Sharma and Kumkum Anil Mohod defeated South Korea 5-3 in the gold medal final. India had earlier secured a bronze medal in the same event at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games. Before reaching the final, the Indian team defeated China 5-1 in the semifinal. The historic victory marked India’s first-ever gold medal in the women’s recurve team event at the Asian Games and highlighted the strong performance of Indian archers on the international stage.

Sujeet Kalkal won the men’s freestyle 65kg wrestling gold medal at the Asian Games 2026, securing India’s first wrestling gold at the Games. In the final at the Nagoya City Inae Sports Centre, Kalkal defeated Tajikistan’s Abdulmazhid Kudiyev 10-9 after making a remarkable comeback from a 2-9 deficit. He scored eight successive points to overturn the result in his favour and claim his maiden Asian Games gold medal. Earlier in the tournament, Kalkal defeated wrestlers from Afghanistan and Iran before overcoming Japan’s Olympic champion Kotaro Kiyooka in the semifinal. The victory marked a significant achievement for the 23-year-old Indian wrestler.