Tajinderpal Singh Toor replaced as India flag-bearer for Asian Games opening ceremony after kit delay
Tajinderpal Singh Toor has been replaced as one of India’s flag-bearers for the Asian Games 2026 opening ceremony in Nagoya on Saturday after a delay in receiving his official kit prevented him from travelling; Pawan Sehrawat will now lead the Indian contingent alongside Manu Bhaker.
Toor remains at India’s athletics training base in Tsukuba and confirmed that he will not be able to attend Saturday’s opening ceremony in Nagoya because he is yet to receive his official kit, a development that occurred just hours before the ceremony. The 31-year-old is a two-time Asian Games champion, having won gold at Jakarta 2018 and retained his title at Hangzhou 2023, and will focus on his athletics campaign after missing the gala event.
Pawan Sehrawat has been named Toor’s replacement and was part of India’s gold-medal-winning kabaddi team at the previous Asian Games. The report describes Sehrawat as one of the most experienced names in Indian kabaddi, and he has taken on the ceremonial responsibility at short notice. His selection completes the pair who will lead India into the opening ceremony.
The opening ceremony is scheduled to begin at 6pm local time, or 2:30pm IST, at the Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium. For Indian viewers the ceremony will be broadcast on Sony Sports channels and streamed live on SonyLIV. Organisers and broadcast partners have confirmed these arrangements for the televised start of the Games.
India will be represented in the official opening of the 20th Asian Games by Manu Bhaker and Pawan Sehrawat, with the country fielding around 500 athletes across 35 sports. The delegation sent to Aichi-Nagoya is reported as a 503-member athlete contingent, with competitors entered across 35 sports. The nation aims to build on its 2023 Asian Games haul of 107 medals, which included 28 gold.
India’s sporting campaign had already begun in several disciplines before the opening ceremony, with women’s cricket, soft tennis and teqball among events that started earlier. The ceremony follows a disrupted traditional flag-hoisting event for India and five other contingents on Friday, which was delayed by more than an hour before going ahead after organisers cited miscommunication between the Olympic Council of Asia and the local organising committee.
Toor’s absence from the opening ceremony does not affect his eligibility to compete at the Games; he remains at the University of Tsukuba training base with the Indian athletics contingent and will now turn his attention to his scheduled events at the Asian Games.
