India Asian Games contingent features 503 athletes, including 269 men and 234 women, competing across 36 disciplines at Aichi-Nagoya 2026.
NEW DELHI: The India Asian Games contingent will feature 503 athletes as the country prepares for the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, with one of its largest teams ever assembled for the continental competition.
The final athlete list comprises 269 men and 234 women competing across 36 disciplines. India’s squad was expanded from an initially announced 492 athletes following the addition of four surfers, six athletics competitors and one mixed martial arts athlete.
The 2026 Asian Games officially run from September 19 to October 4, although competition in some events began before the opening ceremony. India’s programme includes athletics, shooting, badminton, hockey, wrestling, boxing, weightlifting, archery, kabaddi, table tennis and cricket.
More than 300 members of the 503-athlete squad are making their Asian Games debut, giving the Indian team a significant mix of emerging competitors and experienced continental medallists.
Who will carry India’s flag?
Double Olympic medallist shooter Manu Bhaker and two-time defending Asian Games shot put champion Tajinderpal Singh Toor have been selected as India’s flag-bearers for the opening ceremony in Nagoya on September 19.
Bhaker won two bronze medals at the Paris 2024 Olympics, while Toor enters the Games with the opportunity to build on his previous Asian Games successes in shot put.
The athletes are backed by a 265-member support group. This includes 246 coaches and other support personnel, along with 19 Indian Olympic Association contingent officials.
The India Asian Games contingent is smaller than the record 661 athletes who represented the country at Hangzhou 2023. That edition produced India’s best-ever Asian Games performance, with 107 medals.
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Can India build on its Hangzhou performance?
The 2026 squad combines established champions with hundreds of athletes experiencing the Asian Games for the first time. Athletics, shooting, hockey, badminton, wrestling, archery and other traditional strengths will again form important parts of India’s campaign.
Competition will unfold over more than two weeks across Aichi and Nagoya, giving athletes opportunities across individual and team events.
For the India Asian Games contingent, the challenge will be to convert the size and depth of the squad into competitive performances while giving a new generation experience on one of Asia’s biggest sporting stages.
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Impact to expect
Opportunity. The large contingent gives hundreds of Indian athletes exposure to elite Asian competition while offering established competitors another major international stage.
