Five youngest Indian athletes named to Asian Games 2026 squad

Five of the youngest members of India’s contingent are competing at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, with ages ranging from 15 to 18 across athletics, squash, archery, table tennis and cricket.

Months before the Games these athletes were managing schoolwork, family life and the routines of teenage living; now they are wearing India tracksuits and representing the country on Asia’s biggest multi-sport stage. The original article notes that once competition begins their youth often becomes secondary to performance.

Anushka Yadav, 18, is competing in the hammer throw, an event the article says is traditionally dominated by older, physically mature athletes. The piece specifies the implement as a four-kilogram iron ball and describes the discipline as requiring acceleration, footwork and split-second timing; it also recounts long hours practising spins in throwing circles as part of her development.

Anahat Singh, also 18, is listed as India’s squash representative; the article recalls she was barely 14 at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, won a pair of Asian Games bronze medals in Hangzhou a year later, and arrives in Japan as a World Junior champion. The profile highlights her court intelligence and movement inside the glass court.

Pritika Pradeep is identified as a 17-year-old in compound archery whose preparation involves pulling thousands of arrows, developing callused fingers and early-morning practice at 50 metres. The piece places her inside an Indian compound squad described as “stacked with world champions” and credits her composure and breathing control for earning her place.

Syndrela Das, 17 and from Kolkata, is profiled in table tennis; after missing major squad selections a season earlier she worked on movement and her backhand in the gym and at the table, then beat higher-ranked senior opponents on the domestic circuit to secure selection for Japan. The article emphasises her rapid forehand drives and composed approach at the table.

At 15, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is noted as the youngest Indian athlete at the Games and is described as a Bihar-born left-hander who developed his timing batting in Samastipur under his father's guidance. The write-up mentions viral highlights and professional contracts around him and characterises his selection as driven by his enjoyment of batting.

All five athletes are part of India’s delegation to the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games and will compete in Japan as listed in the original report.