India's 501-strong contingent begins action at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya on Sunday, September 20, competing across multiple sports including shooting, wushu, cricket, and rowing.
The 20th edition of the Asian Games is officially underway in Aichi-Nagoya, following an opening ceremony on Saturday, September 19, at the Paloma Mizuho Stadium. India's contingent of 501 athletes is aiming to improve upon its 106-medal tally from the 2022 Games in Hangzhou.
Action on Sunday, September 20, begins as early as 5:30 AM IST with rowing events, including the men's single sculls, double sculls heats and quarter-finals, men's pair, and women's four. In table tennis, the Indian women's team plays group-stage matches at 9:00 AM and 3:30 PM IST, while the Indian women's cricket team begins its campaign against Bangladesh at 10:30 AM IST.
India could potentially win up to 11 medals on the opening day across four medal events. Key chances include the Wushu Men's Changquan Final, the Shooting Women's 10m Air Rifle Final, Teqball women's singles and mixed doubles bronze matches, and potentially swimming in the men's 100m Freestyle and Men's 100m Backstroke.
Key Indian athletes scheduled for action on Day 1 include Suraj Singh Mayanglambam in Wushu; Elavenil Valarivan, Sonam Maskar, and Vidarsa K Vinod in Shooting; Quimcy Dsouza and Anas Beg in Teqball; and Akash Mani, Rohit Benedicton, Rishabh Das, and Utkarsh Santosh Patil in Swimming.
Reporting sourced from Khel Now. Photo courtesy Khel Now.