India Asian Games 2026 Squad: Key Stars, Teams and Changes

India will target another major Asian Games medal haul when the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026 begin in Japan on September 19. The continental event runs through October 4 and brings together athletes from 45 countries and regions across 43 sports, with India seeking to improve on its record 107-medal return at Hangzhou 2023.

That Hangzhou total included 28 gold, 38 silver and 41 bronze medals. India’s 2026 group features five individual Olympic medallists, alongside defending champions in cricket and teams with Olympic qualification on the line in hockey.

Olympic medallists lead India’s medal hopes

PV Sindhu, Manu Bhaker, Lovlina Borgohain, Aman Sehrawat and Mirabai Chanu are among the leading names in the Indian contingent. Sindhu is a two-time Olympic medallist in badminton, while Bhaker won two medals at Paris 2024 in shooting. Borgohain won boxing bronze at Tokyo 2020, Sehrawat claimed wrestling bronze at Paris 2024 and Chanu earned weightlifting silver at Tokyo 2020.

India will be without Olympic and world champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, who withdrew because of an ankle injury. The athletics squad still includes a broad list of competitors, featuring Avinash Sable in the men’s 3000m steeplechase, Murali Sreeshankar in the men’s long jump, Tajinderpal Singh Toor in the men’s shot put, Annu Rani in the women’s javelin throw and Jyothi Yarraji in the women’s 100m hurdles.

The badminton team includes Lakshya Sen, Ayush Shetty, HS Prannoy, Kidambi Srikanth, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty on the men’s side. Sindhu, Unnati Hooda, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand are listed among the women’s selections. Lovlina Borgohain is part of the boxing team in the women’s 75kg category.

Across other sports, India has named squads in archery, artistic gymnastics, canoe, cycling, equestrian, esports, fencing, golf, judo, kabaddi, karate, kurash, mixed martial arts and rowing. Anahat Singh returns in squash after helping India win women’s team bronze and mixed doubles bronze with Abhay Singh at Hangzhou 2023.

Cricket champions and hockey qualification focus

India’s men’s cricket team will defend its Asian Games T20 title under captain Shreyas Iyer. The squad includes Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh and teenage batter Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.

The women’s cricket team will also defend its title, with Harmanpreet Kaur named captain. Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh and Renuka Thakur are included. Jemimah Rodrigues is unavailable after sustaining a hamstring injury during her stint in The Hundred, and Pratika Rawal has taken her place.

Hockey carries particular significance because the men’s and women’s Asian Games tournaments are qualification events for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. The winners of both competitions will secure direct places at the 2028 Games. Harmanpreet Singh captains the men’s team, while Salima Tete leads the women’s side.

The men’s hockey group includes experienced names such as Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Mandeep Singh and Abhishek. The women’s squad includes Savita Punia, Navneet Kaur, Lalremsiami Hmarzote and Beauty Dungdung.

Selection changes before the Games

India’s preparations have included several changes. Wrestlers Mukul Dahiya and Deepanshu were removed following doping violations. Shooter Gaurav Kumar Masoori was dropped for a doping offence, with Akash Bharadwaj replacing him.

The show jumping squad was excluded after failing to meet Sports Ministry selection criteria. In tennis, Sahaja Yamalapalli, Vaishnavi Adkar and Vaidehee Chaudhari were left out after the contingent was pruned. With its Olympic medallists, established teams and defending cricket champions in place, India enters Aichi-Nagoya aiming to build on its Hangzhou benchmark.