The 20th Asian Games are underway in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, with the official Games period running from 19 September to 4 October 2026. The opening ceremony took place on 19 September, while several sporting events, including football, cricket and hockey, began before or around the opening ceremony. The Games feature 43 sports and 469 medal events, with athletes from 45 countries and regions competing.
India has sent 503 athletes across 36 disciplines, including shooting, athletics, badminton, boxing, cricket, hockey, kabaddi, wrestling, swimming, weightlifting, tennis, archery, esports and surfing. The Indian contingent includes 269 men and 234 women.
This live article tracks the Indian campaign, with the latest updates from 21 September at the top, followed by 20 September and 19 September.
6 Medals For India So Far
India's medal tally rose to six medals on 21 September.
The country has four silver and two bronze medals, with five of the six medals coming from shooting.
Shooting Adds Three More Medals
India began the day with a silver in the men's 10m air rifle team event.
The Indian trio of Rudrankksh Patil, Himanshu Dhillon and Parth Rakesh Mane finished second behind China. The team scored 1,890.1 points.
The individual final then produced two more Indian medals.
Himanshu Dhillon won silver, scoring 252.4 points, while Rudrankksh Patil won bronze with 230.9. China's Sheng Lihao took gold.
India therefore collected three shooting medals on 21 September.
Suchika Tariyal Wins Historic MMA Bronze
Suchika Tariyal secured India's first Asian Games medal in mixed martial arts.
Tariyal reached the women's Traditional 60kg semi-final but lost to Singapore's Teo Hui Hoon. The result gave her the bronze medal as MMA made its Asian Games debut.
India Beat Japan 49-24 In Men's Kabaddi
India opened its men's kabaddi campaign with a 49-24 victory over Japan in Group A.
Women's Hockey Team Beats Indonesia 17-1
India's women's hockey team continued its strong start with a 17-1 win over Indonesia.
It followed their 19-0 victory over Uzbekistan in their opening match.
Badminton Teams Through To Quarter-Finals
India's men's badminton team defeated Bangladesh 3-0.
Lakshya Sen, Ayush Shetty and Kidambi Srikanth won their singles matches, sending India into the quarter-finals.
The women's team also reached the quarter-finals after beating Kazakhstan 3-0, with PV Sindhu, Unnati Hooda and Tanvi Sharma winning their singles matches.
Table Tennis: India Beat Pakistan
India's men's table tennis team defeated Pakistan 3-0.
Harmeet Desai, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Payas Jain all won their respective matches.
Srihari Nataraj Reaches Swimming Final
Srihari Nataraj qualified for the men's 50m backstroke final after finishing third in his heat with a time of 25.37 seconds.
He later finished 10th in the final with 25.52 seconds.
India's Women's Cricket Team Into Final
India's women's cricket team had already secured a place in the gold-medal match after defeating Bangladesh by 114 runs in the semi-final on 20 September.
Shafali Verma scored 100 off 49 balls as India posted 195/4 before restricting Bangladesh to 81. India will face Sri Lanka in the final on 22 September.
India Starts Medal Campaign With Two Shooting Silvers
India's first medals of the Games came through Elavenil Valarivan.
The Indian shooter won silver in the women's 10m air rifle individual event after also helping India win silver in the team event alongside Sonam Maskar and Vidarsa K Vinod.
Valarivan scored 252.4 points in the individual final. Japan's Hinata Taichi won gold with an Asian Games record of 253.0.
India ended the day with two silver medals.
Suchika Tariyal Assures India's First MMA Medal
Suchika Tariyal defeated Mongolia's Altanchimeg Baigalmaa in the women's Traditional 60kg quarter-final.
Her semi-final qualification guaranteed India at least a bronze medal, making her the country's first Asian Games medalist in MMA.
Shafali Verma's Century Takes India Into Cricket Final
India defeated Bangladesh by 114 runs in the women's T20 semi-final.
Shafali Verma scored 100 off 49 balls, helping India post 195/4. Bangladesh were bowled out for 81.
India will play Sri Lanka in the gold-medal match on 22 September.
Hockey Teams Make Winning Starts
India's women's hockey team began with a 19-0 win over Uzbekistan.
The men's team also opened its campaign with a win against Indonesia.
Badminton: PV Sindhu And India Reach Quarter-Finals
India's women's badminton team defeated Kazakhstan 3-0 in the pre-quarter-final.
PV Sindhu, Unnati Hooda and Tanvi Sharma won their singles matches to send India into the quarter-finals.
Table Tennis Sees Mixed Results
India's men's and women's teams began their campaigns with wins over Indonesia.
The men's team then lost to Iran, while the women's team continued its group campaign.
Teqball Campaign Ends Without A Medal
Quimcy Dsouza had two medal opportunities but lost both bronze-medal matches, ending India's teqball campaign without a podium finish.
Opening Ceremony Day
Asian Games Officially Open In Nagoya
The 20th Asian Games officially opened in Nagoya on 19 September, with the opening ceremony taking place at Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium.
India's contingent was part of the ceremony, with Pawan Sehrawat carrying the Indian flag after a late change from shot-putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor.
India Begins Campaign Before The Ceremony
India's campaign had already started in some sports before the official opening.
Quimcy Dsouza competed in teqball, while the Indian women's cricket team and other athletes were already involved in competitions scheduled before or around the opening ceremony.
The Games will continue until 4 October, when the closing ceremony will mark the end of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
Where And When Are The Asian Games 2026?
The Asian Games are being hosted in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, from 19 September to 4 October 2026.
Although the official Games period began on 19 September, some competitions started earlier. Football began on 14 September, while cricket got underway before the opening ceremony as well. Sporting events are being held across venues in Nagoya, Aichi and other Japanese cities, including Tokyo and Osaka.
The opening ceremony was held at Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium in Nagoya on 19 September.
How To Watch Asian Games 2026 In India
Indian viewers can watch the Asian Games on the Sony Sports Network.
Television coverage is available on Sony Sports channels, including Sony Sports 1 and Sony Sports 5, with regional-language coverage also available on Sony Sports 3 and Sony Sports 4. The Games are being streamed live on SonyLIV through its app and website.
Since Japan is 3 hours 30 minutes ahead of India, most events take place during Indian morning, afternoon or evening hours.
Who Is Representing India?
India's 503-athlete contingent covers 36 sports.
Some of the major names in the squad include:
Manu Bhaker and Esha Singh in shooting
Elavenil Valarivan, Rudrankksh Patil and other Indian shooters
PV Sindhu, Lakshya Sen, Ayush Shetty and Kidambi Srikanth in badminton
Mirabai Chanu in weightlifting
Lovlina Borgohain and other Indian boxers
Aman Sehrawat and other wrestlers
Jyothi Surekha Vennam in archery
Tajinderpal Singh Toor and other athletes in athletics
Harmanpreet Kaur and the Indian women's cricket team
India's men's and women's hockey teams
India's men's and women's kabaddi teams
The contingent also includes athletes in newer Asian Games disciplines such as MMA, surfing, padel, teqball and esports.
The full list of Indian athletes and teams has been published by Olympics.com.
