Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games hit by accommodation problems as India fields 501 athletes
Japan’s Aichi-Nagoya venue hosted the 2026 Asian Games on Saturday and immediately faced major accommodation and logistical problems. Organisers have been criticised after more than 17,000 athletes and officials from 45 nations were lodged in hotels, containers and a cruise ship. Despite the disruption, India has sent a 501-strong contingent — 267 men and 234 women — competing in 36 disciplines.
Japan is staging its third Asian Games and the first in 32 years, a return to the continental meet after three decades. The country previously hosted two Olympics, in 1964 and in 2021; the 1964 Games came within two decades of the atomic bombings, and the 2021 Olympics were held behind closed doors amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In this context the Aichi-Nagoya Games have already been labelled the ‘worst ever’ because of the current logistical failures.
India’s squad is notably smaller than at the Hangzhou Asiad three years ago, when more than 650 athletes competed in 40 disciplines; the reduction followed a process of rationalisation aimed at checking a rush driven by perks and payments. The contingent includes 310 debutants, indicating a large block of new athletes on the continental stage. The youngest Indian competitor is 15-year-old cricketer Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and the oldest is 55-year-old rider Shruti Vora.
At the previous Hangzhou Asiad, India won 106 medals and finished fourth behind China, Japan and South Korea. Indian sports authorities are expecting around 100 medals in Aichi-Nagoya, a target framed as likely to improve the athlete-to-medal ratio. The country has spent nearly ₹800 crore on Asian Games preparations during the last cycle.
Shooting and athletics together account for 105 Indian athletes and are projected to be the primary medal contributors, followed by archery, boxing, badminton, squash and wrestling. The delegation includes several established names who are expected to lead the campaign: Manu Bhaker, Mirabai Chanu, Lovlina Borgohain, P.V. Sindhu, Aman Sehrawat, Tajinderpal Singh Toor, Gulveer Singh, Harmanpreet Singh, Smriti Mandhana and Jasprit Bumrah.
Squash player Joshna Chinappa, 39, is set to become the first Indian to compete at seven consecutive Asian Games. India will also make entries in debut disciplines such as mixed martial arts and teqball, while its representation in swimming, gymnastics and cycling remains limited. The Indian men’s and women’s cricket teams will be watched closely during the tournament.
India’s men’s and women’s hockey teams will aim for gold medals and, by doing so, seek to secure berths at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The coverage also warned that India should remain vigilant about its deteriorating global reputation because of a sharply rising doping graph.