India names 12-man roster for FIBA U18 Asia Cup 2026 in Ahmedabad
Hosts India have named a 12-member roster for the FIBA U18 Asia Cup 2026, which begins on August 13 at the Veer Savarkar Indoor Stadium in Ahmedabad.
The 28th edition of the tournament will be staged at the Veer Savarkar Indoor Stadium in Ahmedabad from August 13 to 23. India are hosting the FIBA U18 Asia Cup for the first time since 2004, when the tournament was held in Bengaluru. A total of 16 teams have been divided into four groups, and the group stage runs from August 13 to 18 with four matches scheduled each day.
The Basketball Federation of India announced India’s squad for the FIBA U18 Asia Cup 2026 on Tuesday. The 12-player roster comprises Akash Iyappan, Abhyupang Mishra, Arman, Adithya Vittal Shenoi, Harshan Yatish Babu and Joypreet Singh Sidhu. It also includes Kushnaz Singh Baidwan, Krishna Suneriya, Piyush Choudhary, Ansh Tomar, Ronaldo Allen Hopkins and Shekhar Rathee. A promotional post accompanying the announcement read: "Presenting you the hosts!! 🤩🇮🇳🏀 FIBA U18 Asia Cup 2026 #U18AsiaCup #TeamIndia #IndiaBasketball #Ahmedabad #FIBA".
India have been drawn in Group D alongside Japan, South Korea and Kazakhstan. The teams in each group will contest round-robin group play to determine placings for the knockout phase. The group stage placings will decide which teams advance directly to the quarter-finals and which enter the classification play-in.
The tournament format sees the top-placed teams from each group advance directly to the quarter-finals, while the teams finishing second and third will compete in a classification round for the remaining four quarter-final spots. Play-in matches are scheduled for August 20, with the quarter-finals to be held on the same day; quarter-final winners will advance to the semi-finals, which are scheduled for August 22. The four semi-finalists at the FIBA U18 Asia Cup 2026 will qualify for the 2027 FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup in Czechia.
India open their Group D campaign against Japan on August 14, followed by matches against South Korea on August 16 and Kazakhstan on August 18.