Manu Bhaker And Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Lead India’s Contingent For 2026 Asian Games

India will look to build on its record-breaking performance at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games as the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026 get underway in Japan from September 19 to October 4, according to Olympics.com. The continental multi-sport event will bring together athletes from 45 countries and regions competing across 43 sports, with India aiming to surpass the historic 107-medal haul, including 28 gold, 38 silver and 41 bronze, it achieved at the previous edition in China. India's contingent for the Games will notably be missing Olympic and world champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, who has withdrawn due to an ankle injury.

Despite his absence, the squad will still feature five individual Olympic medallists expected to lead India's medal charge. These include two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu in badminton, Paris 2024 double medallist Manu Bhaker in shooting, Tokyo 2020 bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain in boxing, Paris 2024 bronze medallist Aman Sehrawat in wrestling, and Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Mirabai Chanu in weightlifting. The Sports Ministry has approved a 492-member Indian contingent for the Games, comprising 265 men and 227 women. Athletics represents India's largest single discipline by athlete numbers, with 73 competitors, followed by hockey with 40, and shooting and cricket each contributing 30 athletes to the overall squad.

Beyond these traditional strongholds, India's contingent also spans archery, badminton, boxing, wrestling, weightlifting, kabaddi, squash, table tennis, sailing, rowing, cycling and equestrian sports, alongside emerging disciplines such as esports, mixed martial arts and teqball. In cricket, India will defend its men's T20 Asian Games title under the captaincy of Shreyas Iyer, with teenage batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi also included in the squad alongside established names such as Jasprit Bumrah, Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma. The Indian women's team, also the defending champions, will be led by Harmanpreet Kaur, featuring senior players including Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma, though the squad suffered a late setback with all-rounder Jemimah Rodrigues ruled out after sustaining a hamstring injury.

Also Read: Neeraj Chopra’s Ligament Tear Forces Asian Games Withdrawal, Javelin Star Calls Time On Season

Hockey will carry particular significance at these Games, as both the men's and women's tournaments will double as continental qualification events for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, with tournament winners earning direct qualification for the next Summer Games. The lead-up to the contingent's final selection was not without controversy, as wrestlers Mukul Dahiya and Deepanshu were removed from the squad following doping violations, while shooter Gaurav Kumar Masoori was similarly dropped for a doping offense and replaced by Akash Bharadwaj.

India's show jumping squad was excluded entirely after failing to meet selection criteria set by the Sports Ministry, and several top women's tennis singles players, including Sahaja Yamalapalli, Vaishnavi Adkar and Vaidehee Chaudhari, were left out of the final contingent as the overall squad size was trimmed. With preparations now complete and the Games set to open in less than three weeks, India's large and diverse contingent will look to translate its strength across established and emerging sporting disciplines into a historic medal tally at Aichi-Nagoya, building on the momentum generated by its record-setting campaign in Hangzhou three years earlier.

Also Read: Jemimah Rodrigues Ruled Out Of Asia Cup, Asian Games With High-Grade Hamstring Tear