Champions return, 314 debutants arrive: Inside India’s 500-plus Asian Games campaign

India’s medals at the 2026 Asian Games NEW DELHI: Hoping to build on a historic campaign three years ago in Hangzhou, India begins its Asian Games campaign in Aichi-Nagoya with a contingent of over 500 athletes aiming to better the 106 medals collected at the last Games.While the build-up to the Games has been marred by mismanagement, an accommodation crisis and the threat of a typhoon looming over the Japanese prefecture, it will be, as they say, “game mode on” for the athletes once the Games begin.Over 500 Indian athletes form a sizable group of returning champions and seasoned fighters. 314 of these athletes are preparing for their first appearance at a continental event.Interestingly, female athletes make up 46.7% of the contingent. At 15, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is the youngest member. Equestrian rider Shruti Vora (55) is the oldest.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to be youngest to play for India at Asian Games (TOI Graphics)

India will compete in 256 events in 36 out of 43 sports in Aichi-Nagoya, with the Games starting on September 19 and running until October 4.Avinash Sable, returning from a year-long injury layoff, will try to defend his title in the 3000m steeplechase, while Tajinderpal Singh Toor returns in the men’s shot put. Parul Chaudhary will be the next athlete looking to defend her women’s 5000m crown, while India’s men’s 4x400m relay team will go into the Games as the defending champions.In badminton, Satwiksiraj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will look to defend their men’s doubles title. Their gold in Hangzhou was India’s first Asian Games title in the event.Indian compound archers swept all five gold medals in the event in Hangzhou and returning champion Jyothi Surekha Vennam will be the mainstay around which India’s archery campaign revolves.Then there are the athletes whose Asian Games story is still waiting for its first chapter.

India’s record numbers in recent Asian Games (TOI Graphics)

Mirabai Chanu is missing her Asian Games medals

Mirabai Chanu won the world title, Olympic silver and Commonwealth Games gold. Asian Games medals are still missing from her collection.The 32-year-old will lead the four-member Indian weightlifting team in Aichi-Nagoya, with Gyaneshwari Yadav, Seram Nirupama Devi and Harjinder Kaur rounding out the squad.Chanu missed the 2018 Asian Games due to injury and did not compete in Hangzhou. Now, after a career that has already included a world title, an Olympic medal and several Commonwealth Games titles, the Asian Games is the major multi-sport medal still missing from her cabinet.

Anahat arrives as a junior world champion

Anahat Singh is another young Indian athlete arriving in Japan with a title already under her belt.The 18-year-old is a world junior squash champion and has made the transition from junior squash to the senior international circuit at a young age.He is part of the Indian eight-member squash team in Aichi-Nagoya. The other members of the women’s team are Joshana Chinappa, Tanvi Khanna and Shameena Riaz, while Abhay Singh, Velavan Senthilkumar, Veer Chotrani and Suraj Kumar Chand make up the men’s team.Squash was one of India’s gold medal winning sports in Hangzhou.

Manu Bhaker, Aishwary Pratap and a large shooting group

Shooting will again be one of the main sports to follow, with 27 events on India’s schedule.The contingent won 22 medals in Hangzhou, including seven golds.Manu Bhaker returns to the women’s team alongside Esha Singh, Rahi Sarnobat, Elavenil Valarivan, Ashi Chouksey, Suruchi Singh and Tilottama Sen.

Indian Asian Games contingent (TOI Graphics)

The men’s group includes Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, Rudranksh Patil and Anish Bhanwala.There will also be a large contingent of shotgun shooters, with veteran Mairaj Ahmed Khan leading the pack alongside Kynan Chenai, Shapath Bharadwaj and Ahvar Rizvi. Neeru Dhanda, Manisha Keer, Maheshwari Chauhan and Parinaaz Dhaliwal are also part of the shotgun group.Meanwhile, Neeraj Chopra will not be in Japan. The javelin thrower, who defended his Asian Games title in Hangzhou, is missing the 2026 Games after injuring an ankle ligament in training.

Athletics remains the largest group

Athletics has the largest number of athletes with 78 competitors, as well as the largest program with 43 events. They won a total of 29 medals in Hangzhou, including six golds, and are expected to go many medals better this time around.Apart from Sable, Toora and Parul, there are names like Gulveer Singh, Animesh Kujur, Harita Bhadra, Jyothi Yarraji, Murali Sreeshankar, Praveen Chithravel and Tejaswin Shankar.

Breakdown of Asian Games events in India (TOI Graphics)

Hockey: Defending champions and women’s team on the rise

The men’s ice hockey team goes to Aichi-Nagoya as the defending Asian Games champions, but its recent World Cup campaign has left another question hanging.India won gold in Hangzhou 2023, defeating Japan 5-1 in the final, and the title also secured direct qualification for the Paris Olympics. The team now has another Olympic berth in Japan at stake, with the Asian Games gold medalist earning direct qualification for Los Angeles 2028.The women’s team comes to Japan with a more encouraging recent result.India finished fifth in the 2026 Women’s Hockey World Cup, their best finish in the tournament in 52 years. The campaign included a 2-2 draw against China, the 2024 Olympic silver medalists, a result that carried particular weight after India’s 4-0 defeat of the same opposition in the semi-finals of the Asian Games in Hangzhou.The women’s team has not won an Asian Games since 1982, and gold in Aichi-Nagoya would also bring direct qualification for the 2028 Olympics. The team will be captained by Salima Tete, with experienced players in the squad including Savita Punia, Lalremsiami, Navneet Kaur, Deepika and Nikki Pradhan.

Cricket brings another set of household names

The Indian Men’s T20 team is led by Shreyas Iyer and includes Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh.Sooryavanshi is also part of the team.Harmanpreet Kaur leads the women’s side, with Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh and Renuka Thakur among the selected players.India won both men’s and women’s T20 gold medals in Hangzhou.There will also be Indian participation in four esports events – eFootball, Puyo Puyo Champions, League of Legends and Pokemon Unite.Haryana leads the state numbersHaryana has the largest representation with 96 athletes.

Indian Athletes in 2026 Asiad by States (TOI Graphics)

It is followed by Maharashtra with 49, Tamil Nadu 37, Punjab 35, Manipur 34, Uttar Pradesh 32 and Delhi 30.Karnataka, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh have 24 athletes each.The representation is spread across the country, with athletes also hailing from Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Mizoram, Nagaland, Puducherry, Tripura, Sikkim, Ladakh and Lakshadweep.The support structure of the contingent is divided into several programs. National Coaching Camps account for 134 athletes, followed by TOPS Development with 78 and TOPS Core with 77. Khelo India has 65 athletes, TAGG 48 and National Centers of Excellence 25.

Support for athletes (TOI Graphics)

Aichi-Nagoya therefore brings together a group that already knows the stage of the Asian Games and another that has never experienced it.Mirabai Chanu has one more big medal to add. Anahat Singh arrives as Junior World Champion. Manu Bhaker and Aishwary Pratap lead another big shooting group while Sable, Toor, Parul, Jyothi and Satwik-Chirag return as the defending champions.And around them are 314 first-year players, deployed in 256 events in 36 sports.