India’s preparations for the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, have moved into a decisive phase after the Sports Ministry approved a 492-member athlete contingent for the continental showpiece.
The approved squad features 265 male and 227 female athletes, with athletics emerging as the largest discipline with 73 participants. The Games are scheduled to take place from September 19 to October 4.
The selection gives India a blend of established champions, Olympic medallists and emerging talents, with several athletes heading to Japan carrying realistic medal ambitions.
Neeraj Chopra headlines a powerful athletics group
Athletics will once again be at the heart of India’s Asian Games campaign.
The 73-member athletics squad includes two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra, long jumper Murali Sreeshankar, distance runner Gulveer Singh, decathlete Tejaswin Shankar and 100m hurdler Jyothi Yarraji. The group consists of 35 men and 38 women.
Chopra will be one of the biggest attractions in Japan as he targets an unprecedented third consecutive Asian Games gold medal in men’s javelin. He won gold at Jakarta 2018 and Hangzhou 2022, making the Aichi-Nagoya Games another opportunity to strengthen his continental legacy.
Several other Hangzhou champions are also returning. Avinash Sable, Tajinderpal Singh Toor, Parul Chaudhary and Annu Rani will look to defend their individual Asian Games titles, while Toor is also chasing a third successive gold medal.
Badminton brings established stars
India’s 20-member badminton squad combines experience with rising talent.
Former world champion PV Sindhu, Lakshya Sen and Ayush Shetty are among the singles names, while women’s doubles pair Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand and men’s doubles combination Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty add further medal potential.
The inclusion comes at an interesting time for Indian badminton, with the country looking to turn strong performances at major international events into a bigger Asian Games medal haul.
Cricket returns with star power
Cricket will again be part of the Asian Games programme, with both the men’s and women’s T20 teams cleared for the competition.
The 30-member cricket contingent includes prominent names such as Jasprit Bumrah, Sanju Samson, Shreyas Iyer, Arshdeep Singh, Abhishek Sharma, Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur, Richa Ghosh and Deepti Sharma.
India will be aiming to retain the gold medals won by both its men’s and women’s cricket teams at the previous Asian Games.
Strong representation across disciplines
India’s campaign extends well beyond athletics, badminton and cricket.
Athletics: 73 athletes
Hockey: 40 athletes
Shooting: 30 athletes
Cricket: 30 athletes
Kabaddi: 24 athletes
Rowing: 22 athletes
Sepak takraw: 21 athletes
Badminton: 20 athletes
Fencing: 20 athletes
Wrestling: 16 athletes
Esports: 15 athletes
Boxing: 11 athletes
The boxing team includes recent Commonwealth Games silver medallists Lovlina Borgohain, Narender Berwal and Jadumani Singh. Wrestling will feature Antim Panghal and Olympic bronze medallist Aman Sehrawat, among others.
India’s medal benchmark
The Indian contingent enters Aichi-Nagoya with a significant benchmark from the Hangzhou Asian Games.
India produced its best-ever Asian Games performance there, winning 107 medals — 28 gold, 39 silver and 41 bronze — to finish fourth overall. Athletics alone contributed 29 medals, including six gold, 14 silver and nine bronze.
The challenge now is not simply to match that performance but to build on it.
Key numbers
Total athletes: 492
Men: 265
Women: 227
Largest discipline: Athletics — 73
Asian Games: Aichi-Nagoya 2026
Dates: September 19–October 4, 2026
Previous Indian medal tally: 107 at Hangzhou 2022
Previous overall finish: 4th
The road to Aichi-Nagoya
The Sports Ministry’s approval officially gives India’s athletes the green light for the continental challenge. While the accompanying support-staff list is still to be announced, the athlete selection provides a clear picture of India’s medal strategy: rely on proven champions while giving younger competitors the stage to make their mark.
With Chopra chasing another historic javelin title, Sindhu and India’s doubles combinations leading the badminton challenge, and cricket returning with a star-studded lineup, the Aichi-Nagoya Games promise a major test of India’s growing sporting depth.
After the record-breaking campaign in Hangzhou, 492 athletes will now carry the next chapter of India’s Asian Games ambitions to Japan.
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