India Names 168 Athletes for Asian Para Games 2026

India has finalised a 168-athlete contingent for the Asian Para Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, with Paralympic medallists Pramod Bhagat and Bhavina Patel named as the country’s flagbearers for the opening ceremony.

The fifth edition of the Asian Para Games will run from 18 to 24 October, bringing together 45 nations for 492 medal events across 18 sports. India’s squad comprises 112 men and 56 women, who will compete across 11 disciplines. The delegation will also include 98 team officials and 15 contingent staff.

The announcement brings clarity to India’s preparations less than a week before the Games after what the source described as a controversially delayed selection process. There could still be changes to the final number of athletes, with court appeals pending in some sports.

India’s reduced squad and quota picture

India’s 168-athlete group is substantially smaller than the 309-athlete contingent sent to the previous edition in Hangzhou. The reduction is linked largely to the number of quota places available for this edition.

Athletics remains India’s biggest single sport in the contingent, with 62 athletes. India had sent 123 athletes in athletics to Hangzhou, but only 60 quota places were initially allocated for Aichi-Nagoya by the Olympic Council of Asia. The Paralympic Committee of India secured two further places to lift the athletics total to 62.

Para badminton is the next-largest Indian group with 28 athletes, followed by para swimming with 16. The named badminton squad includes Manisha Ramadass, Nithya Sivan, Thulasimathi Murugesan, Mandeep Kaur, Neeraj, Manasi Girishchandra Joshi and Sanjana Kumari, alongside Pramod Bhagat, Nitesh Kumar, Krishna Nagar, Sukant Kadam, Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj and others.

Among the athletics names listed are Deepthi Jeevanji, Preethi Pal, Simran Sharma, Jayanti Behera, Bhagyashri Jadhav, Nishad Kumar, Pranav Soorma, Dharambir, Sachin Khilari, Sumit, Navdeep, Praveen Kumar and Varun Bhati. The selection also includes Tokyo Paralympics gold medallist Avani Lekhara in the shooting group, alongside Mona Agarwal, Bhakti Sharma, Rubina Francis, Shrishti Arora and Sumedha Pathak.

Bhavina Patel, one of India’s two opening-ceremony flagbearers, features in the table tennis selection alongside Sonalben Patel, Baby Sahana Ravi, Ekta Bhyan, Prachi Pandey and Savita Vittal Ajjanakatti. The wider contingent named by the ministry also includes archers Harvinder Singh and Sheetal Devi, as well as athletes in swimming, judo, powerlifting, football and other disciplines.

Sports not included in India’s entry

The Sports Ministry has chosen not to field Indian teams in taekwondo, goalball, sitting volleyball, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair fencing, wheelchair tennis or wheelchair rugby for the 2026 Games.

That decision, together with the tighter quota allocation, frames the scale of India’s Aichi-Nagoya delegation. Even so, the squad covers 11 disciplines and contains several Paralympic medallists and established international competitors.

With Bhagat and Bhavina Patel set to lead the delegation at the opening ceremony, India now turns its focus to competition week in Japan. The final contingent total remains subject to the outstanding appeals, but the announced 168-athlete squad is the core group selected to represent the country at the Asian Para Games.