Asian Games 2026: India fields PV Sindhu, Manu Bhaker and other medal contenders in Aichi-Nagoya
On September 17, 2026, as the 20th Asian Games begins, India will send a contingent to Aichi-Nagoya featuring leading names such as P.V. Sindhu, Manu Bhaker and 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.
India enters the Asian Games fresh from a record haul at Hangzhou 2023, where it won 107 medals, including 28 gold, but its medal prospects were dented when Neeraj Chopra, a leader of the javelin squad in 2023, was ruled out following an injury. Alongside individual stars, India’s men’s and women’s cricket and hockey teams will also compete with ambitions to raise the country’s medal tally.
P.V. Sindhu is among the most decorated Indians in the squad: she won Olympic silver at Rio 2016 and bronze at Tokyo 2020, and holds five BWF World Championship medals including a gold, making her the only Indian to reach that mark; her Asian Games record includes a silver in women’s singles in 2018 and a bronze in the women’s team event in 2014.
Mirabai Chanu, who won silver in the 48kg category at Tokyo 2020, leads India’s weightlifting contingent; she missed the 2018 Asian Games because of a back issue and was injured on the platform during the 2023 edition, and she aims to secure a medal at this year’s event.
Manu Bhaker is listed among India’s shooting hopefuls after becoming the first Indian to win twin medals in a single edition of the Games at Paris 2024 and the first female Indian shooter to win an Olympic medal. In wrestling, Aman Sehrawat—an Olympic bronze medallist in the men’s freestyle 57kg match on August 9, 2024—will lead a 15-member contingent that also includes 2022 Asian Games silver medallist Deepak Punia.
Lovlina Borgohain, who took bronze at the Tokyo Olympics and missed out on a medal at Paris 2024, is part of India’s boxing lineup; she won silver in the women’s 75kg at the 2023 Asian Games. Fans are also expected to watch teenage batter Vaibhav Sooryavanshi when he takes the field in Aichi-Nagoya.
Shreyas Iyer will captain India’s men’s T20 cricket team and Harmanpreet Kaur the women’s T20 side, both of which won gold at Hangzhou 2023. In hockey, Harmanpreet Singh retains the men’s captaincy as India begins its title defence in Aichi-Nagoya, while Salima Tete will lead the women’s team that won bronze in 2023.
Aichi-Nagoya serves as the continental qualification event for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, and India’s performances in hockey, cricket and individual sports at these Asian Games will therefore carry qualification and medal implications going into the Olympic cycle.