India alters Asian Games 2026 squad with multiple withdrawals and replacements
India has announced late changes to its contingent for the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, which run from September 19 to October 4. The athletics squad has been reduced from an original 79 to 74 athletes after a series of withdrawals and replacements, and adjustments have been confirmed across other sports including cricket, javelin and wushu.
The Games will feature competitors from 45 countries and regions across 43 sports, and India arrives off a 107-medal haul at Hangzhou 2023 (28 gold, 38 silver, 41 bronze). Despite the loss of Neeraj Chopra to injury, the delegation still includes five individual Olympic medallists: PV Sindhu, Manu Bhaker, Lovlina Borgohain, Aman Sehrawat and Mirabai Chanu. Shreyas Iyer will captain the men’s cricket team with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi included in the squad, while Harmanpreet Kaur leads the defending women’s side. The men’s and women’s hockey tournaments at these Games double as qualification events for the LA 2028 Olympics, with the gold medallists earning a direct Olympic berth.
Neeraj Chopra has been ruled out after sustaining an ankle ligament tear during training; the javelin gold medallist from the 2023 Asiad has ended his 2026 season and will not defend his title. Yashvir Singh has been named as Chopra’s replacement in the javelin event. Yashvir qualified for the Commonwealth Games final in Glasgow earlier this year with a throw of 78.36m.
Annu Rani was dropped from the squad after failing to meet the Athletics Federation of India’s qualifying standard of 57.62m for the women’s javelin across eight competitions this season; her best effort was 57.50m at the Indian Athletics Series Final, 12cm short of the mark. Rani’s personal best remains 63.82m, set in 2022, which is the national record.
The national record holder in the 110m hurdles was omitted after scans revealed stress fractures in his landing foot; the injury had already affected his Commonwealth Games campaign and required rehabilitation. An 18-year-old long jumper who won bronze at the World U20 Championships in Eugene with a jump of 7.84m failed a fitness assessment after carrying a minor injury and finished sixth at the final trial with 7.43m, below his season-best of 8.30m.
A sprinter originally selected for the women’s 4x100m relay was dropped for performance and medical reasons after finishing ninth in the 100m at the final trial in 11.93 seconds. The national record holder in the high jump missed the final trial due to injury but has been medically cleared to compete; the triple jump national record holder skipped the trial with an injury and has also received medical clearance. The national record holder in the women’s 100m hurdles was cleared to compete after sitting out the final trial owing to injury.
A hammer thrower set a new national record of 71.02m at the final trial, surpassing the qualifying mark of 69.12m, but was not selected because he began competing this season only in August and thus fell outside the AFI’s qualification window. A wushu athlete named in the Sports Ministry’s original squad list on August 22 was later removed due to a knee injury; she initially alleged the exclusion was unfair and last-minute but has said she accepts the federation’s decision after being briefed on the medical grounds. Divyanshi Choudhary was ruled out after an MRI and a SAI medical report showed a partial to high-grade ACL tear in her knee and was replaced by Roshibina Devi Naorem in the women’s 60kg sanda category; Roshibina is a two-time Asian Games medallist. A fast bowler suffered a rectus femoris strain during a bowling simulation while rehabilitating at the BCCI Centre of Excellence, ruling him out of the Afghanistan T20I series and the Asian Games; Yash Thakur has been named as his replacement and as Rana’s replacement in India’s cricket squad.
India’s athletics contingent now stands at 74 athletes after Annu Rani, Shahnavaz Khan and Nithya Gandhe were dropped from the original 79-member squad. For further updates, follow Khel Now on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join their community on Whatsapp & Telegram.
