India and Japan meet in Ahmedabad as Group D action opens at FIBA U18 Asia Cup 2026

India faced Japan in Ahmedabad in their Group D opener at the FIBA U18 Asia Cup 2026 on August 14, with the match scheduled to begin at 7:30 pm IST at the Veer Savarkar Stadium. Japan led 4-0 after two two-pointers early in the first quarter, and India, after committing two turnovers, registered their first points with a two-pointer.

Hosts India are in Group D alongside Japan, South Korea and Kazakhstan and are staging the tournament for only the second time; their match against Japan was one of four fixtures on the day. South Korea defeated Kazakhstan 95-68 earlier in Group D. Sixteen teams are competing in the biennial U18 Asia Cup, divided into four groups of four.

The group phase runs from August 13-18 with four games scheduled each day, and group leaders will advance directly to the Quarter-Finals at the end of the preliminaries. Teams finishing second and third in their pools proceed to the Qualification to Quarter-Finals, with that play-in round scheduled for August 20. The Quarter-Finals are set for August 21, the Semi-Finals for August 22 and the one-game Final for August 23.

Khel Now opened live coverage of the India v Japan match at 7:20 pm and noted the players were ready as the first quarter got under way. Early match action saw Japan convert two two-pointers to go up 4-0 while India turned the ball over twice before finally getting on the scoreboard with a two-point field goal. The live blog indicated both teams had begun their tournament campaigns and were seeking positive starts in Group D.

Teams knocked out of the Quarter-Finals will move into Classification Rounds 5-8 beginning on August 22, with classification games for 5-6 and 7-8 and the Third-Place Game scheduled before the Final on August 23. The four teams that reach the Semi-Finals will secure places at the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2027 in Pardubice, Czechia, which is scheduled for June 26 to July 4, 2027.

The play-in to the Final Phase is due on August 20, followed by Quarter-Finals on August 21 and Semi-Finals on August 22; India and Japan remain in Group D action through the conclusion of the preliminaries on August 18.