Asian Games 2026 Opening Ceremony: When and Where to Watch Live in India

Nagoya: Members of the Indian delegation arrive during the official welcome and flag-raising ceremony ahead of the 20th Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan. (PTI Photo/Atul Yadav) The 2026 Asian Games officially begins in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan on Saturday, September 19, with India looking to better its record medal tally from the previous edition in Hangzhou.The opening ceremony will feature Indian Olympic medalists Manu Bhaker and Tajinderpal Singh Toor as India’s flag bearers. Bhaker made history at the Paris 2024 Olympics by winning two medals, while Toor enters the Games as the defending Asian men’s shot put champion after winning gold in the last two editions.At the 20th Asian Games, athletes from 45 countries and regions will compete in 43 sports. Japan is hosting the continental event for the third time, after Tokyo in 1958 and Hiroshima in 1994.India will be looking to improve on their performance at Hangzhou 2023, where they won a record 107 medals, including 28 gold. The Indian contingent includes big names like PV Sindhu in badminton, Mirabai Chanu in weightlifting, Manu Bhaker in shooting, Aman Sehrawat in wrestling and Lovlina Borgohain in boxing.There are also more than 75 athletes in the Indian athletics contingent, including Gulveer Singh, Tejaswin Shankar, Murali Sreeshankar, Jyothi Yarraji and Parul Chaudhary.

2026 Asian Games Opening Ceremony: When and where to watch

When is the opening ceremony?The opening ceremony of the 2026 Asian Games takes place on September 19 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.Time: 18:00 to 20:00 Japan Local Time (JST) / 14:30 to 16:30 Indian Standard Time (IST)Where can you watch the opening ceremony on TV in India?The event will be telecast live on Sony Sports 1 and Sony Sports 5. Regional language coverage will also be available on Sony Sports 3 in Hindi and Sony Sports 4 in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada.Where can you watch the Asian Games online?The 2026 Asian Games will be available for live streaming on SonyLIV through its app and website in India.