Asian Games 2026 Opening Ceremony LIVE: Manu Bhaker, Pawan Sehrawat named India’s flag-bearers in Aichi-Nagoya
Asian Games 2026 Opening Ceremony Live Updates: The 2026 Asian Games officially gets underway in Japan’s Aichi-Nagoya on Saturday, with India sending a 503-athlete contingent for the continental event. This includes 269 men and 234 women competing across 36 sporting disciplines. The 2026 Asian Games, the 20th edition of event, will run till 4 October.
Although the Asian Games only officially starts on Saturday, some events, including women’s cricket have already got underway. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led India qualified for the semifinals of the women’s cricket competition with a thumping eight-wicket win over hosts Japan. They will face Bangladesh in the semifinal on Sunday.
India’s other medal hopefuls include double Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker, long jumper Sreeshankar, shuttlers PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen, weightlifter Mirabai Chanu and wrestlers Aman Sehrawat and Antim Panghal.
Bhaker and Indian kabaddi star Pawan Sehrawat will be India’s flag-bearers at the Asian Games 2026 opening ceremony. Sehrawat replaced shot putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor as one of the flag-bearers because the latter will be unable to attend the opening ceremony as he is yet to receive his official kit for the Games.
At the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, India won 107 medals, the country’s best-ever medals tally at the Games. This included 28 gold, 38 silver and 41 bronze medals.
Asian Games 2026 opening ceremony venue and live streaming details
The opening ceremony of Asian Games 2026 will be held at the Paloma Mizuho Stadium in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. The event will get underway at 2.30 pm IST (6 pm Japan time) and will go on till 4.30 pm IST (8 pm Japan time). The event will be broadcast on the Sony Sports Network TV channels, with live streaming available on the Sony LIV app and website.
