At a glance
- India finished 4th with 85 medals, its second-best tally after Hangzhou.
- India and Uzbekistan both won 21 golds; India placed 4th on silvers (27 against 25).
- China topped the table for the 12th Games in a row; host Japan was 2nd.
- India won both the men's and women's golds in cricket, kabaddi and hockey.
The Games
| Edition | 20th Asian Games (XX Asian Games) |
|---|---|
| Dates | 19 September to 4 October 2026; some competitions began on 10 September |
| Host | Aichi Prefecture and its capital Nagoya, Japan; some events elsewhere in Japan, including Tokyo and Osaka |
| Main stadium | Paloma Mizuho Stadium (Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium), Nagoya: opening and closing ceremonies |
| Mascot | Honohon: its name comes from "honoho", an old word for flame; its design joins athletes' fiery passion with the shachihoko, the tiger-headed fish linked with Nagoya Castle and the region |
| Slogan | "Imagine One Asia" (Japanese: "ここで、ひとつに。", "Become one here") |
| Sports and events | 43 sports, 469 medal events |
| Teams | 45 OCA member nations and territories plus the Asian Refugee Team, which took part for the first time |
| Athletes | More than 11,000 by the OCA's count; some reports give more than 15,000 |
| Japan as host | Third time, after Tokyo 1958 and Hiroshima 1994 |
Opening and closing
- Opening, 19 September 2026: Emperor Naruhito declared the Games open. Hammer thrower Koji Murofushi and his father Shigenobu Murofushi lit the cauldron.
- Closing, 4 October 2026: OCA President Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani declared the Games closed, and the OCA flag was handed to Doha, host of the next Games.
- Debut sports: padel, mixed martial arts (MMA) and virtual taekwondo were among the sports played at the Asian Games for the first time.
Final medal table: top 5
| Rank and country | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. China | 169 | 89 | 83 | 341 |
| 2. Japan (host) | 83 | 95 | 91 | 269 |
| 3. South Korea | 39 | 43 | 68 | 150 |
| 4. India | 21 | 27 | 37 | 85 |
| 5. Uzbekistan | 21 | 25 | 24 | 70 |
Japan's 269 medals and 83 golds are its best at any Asian Games.
India at a glance
| Contingent | 503 athletes on the Sports Ministry's final list |
|---|---|
| Chef de mission | Sahdev Yadav |
| Flag bearers, opening | Manu Bhaker (shooting) and Pawan Sehrawat (kabaddi) |
| Flag bearer, closing | Neeru Dhanda (trap shooting) |
| Most golds | Archery: 5 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze |
| Most medals | Athletics: 24 (1 gold, 9 silver, 14 bronze) |
| First gold | Women's cricket, 22 September |
- Men's hockey final, 3 October: India beat Malaysia 5-1 to keep the title. It was India's fifth men's hockey gold (1966, 1998, 2014, 2022, 2026) and brought a direct place at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
- Women's hockey final, 2 October: India beat China 1-0 for their first gold since 1982, which also brought a place at LA 2028. This was the first time India won both the men's and women's hockey golds at one Asian Games.
- Boxing: 3 gold and 3 bronze; India's most boxing golds at one Asian Games (two in 2010), and India topped the boxing medal table.
- Wrestling: 6 medals (2 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze).
India at recent Asian Games
| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 Guangzhou (China) | 14 | 17 | 34 | 65 | 6 |
| 2014 Incheon (South Korea) | 11 | 9 | 37 | 57 | 8 |
| 2018 Jakarta-Palembang (Indonesia) | 16 | 23 | 31 | 70 | 8 |
| 2022 Hangzhou (China, held in 2023) | 28 | 38 | 41 (40 in some later tables) | 107 (106 in some later tables) | 4 |
| 2026 Aichi-Nagoya (Japan) | 21 | 27 | 37 | 85 | 4 |
Hangzhou: the government's count at the close of the Games gave India a record 107 medals; some later medal tables, including the one on Wikipedia, give 106 with 40 bronze.
India's medal winners
Next Games
- 2030: Doha, Qatar; Doha also hosted the 2006 Games.
- 2034: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; the first Asian Games in Saudi Arabia.
- Both were awarded together on 16 December 2020 at the OCA General Assembly in Muscat, Oman: Doha won the vote, and runner-up Riyadh was given 2034.
- Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Para Games: 18 to 24 October 2026.
Remember: often mixed up
- Edition numbers19th Hangzhou 2022 (held in 2023) · 20th Aichi-Nagoya 2026 · 21st Doha 2030.
- MascotsHonohon for the Asian Games · Uzumin for the Asian Para Games.
- Cricket finalswomen beat Sri Lanka by 147 runs · men beat Pakistan by 19 runs.
- Kabaddi finalsboth against Iran; men won 40-34, women 37-34.
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