Asian Games 2026: Indian contingent swells to 768 after debut in surfing

ByTech Word News

Asian Games 2026 (Photo Reuters) NEW DELHI: The official Indian contingent for the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games has been expanded to 768 members, with surfing added as the 36th sport. The games will be held in Japan from September 19 to October 4.According to the sanctioning order of the Ministry of Sports, the strength of athletes increased from the originally appointed 492 to 503 athletes. The revised squad consists of 269 men and 234 women, compared to the previously sanctioned 265 men and 227 women.Surfing features four athletes: Kishore Kumar Anbarashu and Sivaraj Babu in the men’s shortboard and Kamali Prakash and Sugar Shanti Gayen in the women’s shortboard. The discipline has an even division into two male and two female competitors.Athletics saw six additions, taking its strength from 73 to 79 athletes. The adjusted athletics team consists of 36 men and 43 women. The additions are Praveen Kumar (Men’s Hammer), Harita Bhadra (Women’s 200m), Kiran Pahal (Women’s 400m), Asha Ilango (Women’s Triple Jump), Sindhushree Ganesha (Women’s Pole Vault) and Sanya Yadav (Women’s Discus).Mixed Martial Arts saw the addition of Varun Sanyal in the traditional men’s 77kg category, increasing the team from one female athlete to two competitors.The total contingent includes 265 officials: 150 coaches/head coaches/deputy coaches, 24 paramedics/doctors, 31 physiotherapists, four sports psychologists/rehabilitation experts, 10 masseurs/masseurs, 10 team managers/team managers/technical analysts and 36 others. Of these, 246 are team officials/support staff and 19 are members of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) contingent.The latest expansion follows the ministry’s revised approval order that saw India participate in 35 sports. India will now compete in 36 events. The IOA has also been directed to provide adequate women’s support staff, including doctors, physiotherapists and masseuses, from an approved pool wherever such staff are not included in the disciplinary contingents to assist female athletes.

  1. The 79-member athletics contingent, which would be without injured javelin superstar Neeraj Chopra, has the largest support team of 31 members, including 20 coaches led by national coach P Radhakrishnan.