India’s Asian Games schedule for September 18 includes Soft Tennis, Teqball qualifiers and women’s cricket quarter-final
India’s programme at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya on September 18 features early qualifiers in Soft Tennis and Teqball and a women’s cricket quarter-final against hosts Japan.
The Indian contingent at Aichi-Nagoya comprises 503 athletes competing across 36 sports. The women’s cricket side, entering the tournament as defending champions, will begin their title defence under captain Harmanpreet Kaur with Smriti Mandhana named as her deputy. Smriti Mandhana recently passed Mithali Raj to become the highest run-scorer in women’s international cricket and already has more centuries than any other player across formats.
Bowling options for India’s women include Deepti Sharma, noted in the source as the all-time leading wicket-taker in women’s T20Is, and Shree Charani, described as the format’s top-ranked bowler; Shafali Verma, who was Player of the Series at the Women’s Asia Cup, is also part of the squad. Those names head into the quarter-final against Japan on September 18.
In Teqball, Quimcy Joaquim Dsouza opens India’s campaign in the women’s singles with a match against Japan’s Yuina Sakamoto followed by a contest with Cambodia’s Koemyean Dy, with a chance to reach the quarter-finals on the same day if things go her way. Dsouza also pairs with Mohamed Anas Imran Beg in the mixed doubles, where India’s group-stage opponents are the Philippines, Cambodia, Thailand and Kuwait.
India’s Soft Tennis entry of Jay Meena, Aryan Thakur and Yogesh Choudhary will start their campaign in the men’s team qualification event. India’s competition day is scheduled to begin at 5:30 AM IST with the Men’s Soft Tennis Team Qualification.
The India vs Japan women’s cricket quarter-final is set for September 18, starting at 10:30 AM IST at the Korogi Athletic Park in Aichi. Japan will be appearing in only their third Asian Games cricket tournament, and their best previous result cited in the source was a bronze medal in 2010 in a straight knockout event.
In India, broadcast rights for the Asian Games are held by Sony Sports Network; viewers can watch live on Sony Sports Ten 1, Sony Sports Ten 3 and Sony Sports Ten 4, while SonyLIV will stream the events online. For further updates, the source directs readers to follow Khel Now on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, download the Khel Now Android or iOS apps, or join its WhatsApp and Telegram communities.