India Clears 15-Member Esports Squad for Asian Games 2026

India has received government approval for a 15-member esports contingent for the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, with the country set to compete across four video game titles. The continental event is scheduled from September 19 to October 4, while esports competition will run from September 23 to October 2.

The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports cleared the contingent as part of a 492-member Indian athlete delegation for the Games. India will enter League of Legends, Pokemon UNITE, eFootball and Puyo Puyo Champions, according to the government’s sanction order issued on August 22.

The approval gives the selected players a confirmed route to represent India at the Asian Games, where esports will feature 13 titles across competitive genres. India’s participation in four of those titles includes team events in League of Legends and Pokemon UNITE, alongside individual representation in eFootball and Puyo Puyo Champions.

India’s selected esports contingent

The six-player Pokemon UNITE squad will be led by captain Adnan Mohammed Badshah of Dewas, Madhya Pradesh. He is joined by Reuben Godfrey Fernandes of Mira Bhayandar, Maharashtra; Sai Krishna Nalluri of Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh; Dipjyoti Laxman Nath of Thane, Maharashtra; Rudra Narayan Nayak of Bhubaneswar, Odisha; and Deepkumar Vipulbhai Patel of Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

India’s eFootball representatives are Chinmay Sahoo of Jajpur, Odisha, and Danial Shakeel Patel of Mumbai, Maharashtra. Paritosh of Rohtak, Haryana, has been approved to compete in Puyo Puyo Champions.

The League of Legends team includes Ahmed Shahid Israr of Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh; Rahul Bisht of Delhi; Sanindhya Malik of Delhi; Mihir Ranjan of Delhi; Aakash Shandilya of Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh; and captain Akshaj Shenoy of Ernakulam, Kerala.

The 15-player group spans several parts of the country, with selected athletes listed from Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Gujarat, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Kerala. The two six-member line-ups account for the Pokemon UNITE and League of Legends entries, while the remaining three members will compete in eFootball and Puyo Puyo Champions.

Lokesh Suji, Director of the Esports Federation of India and Vice-President of the Asian Esports Federation, described the clearance as a significant milestone for Indian esports. He said the approval gives the athletes a platform to compete for the country at the highest continental level and said the focus was on preparation and support ahead of Aichi-Nagoya 2026.

Suji also thanked the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, the Indian Olympic Association and the Sports Authority of India for their support and recognition of India’s esports athletes as the squad prepares for the Games.

Asian Games return for India’s esports teams

The Aichi-Nagoya event will be India’s second successive Asian Games appearance in esports. The Esports Federation of India sent a 19-member contingent to the previous edition in Hangzhou in 2022, where India’s League of Legends team finished fifth.

For the 2026 edition, the approved group is smaller at 15 members but will again carry Indian participation in multiple game titles. The League of Legends team’s previous Asian Games result provides a point of reference as India returns to the continental esports programme, while the Pokemon UNITE, eFootball and Puyo Puyo Champions entries complete the country’s four-title slate.

With esports scheduled for September 23 to October 2, the selected players will compete during the middle portion of the September 19-October 4 Asian Games programme. The government clearance formally confirms the Indian contingent and its entries for Aichi-Nagoya 2026.