Nagoya, September 18: The Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026 got underway in Japan on Friday, with Indian athletes scheduled to compete in cricket, soft tennis and teqball.
The Indian women’s cricket team will begin its campaign against hosts Japan in the quarter-finals at Korogi Athletic Park. Led by Harmanpreet Kaur, India are defending the gold medal they won at the previous Asian Games.
India enter the tournament after winning the Asia Cup title last week, defeating Sri Lanka in the final. The quarter-final against Japan will also be the first meeting between the two teams in women’s T20I cricket.
India are ranked third in the women’s T20I rankings and are the highest-ranked team among the eight sides taking part in the Asian Games competition.
Japan, ranked 39th, will be making their third appearance in women’s cricket at the Asian Games. Their best result came in 2010, when they won the bronze medal.
The women’s cricket competition is being played in a straight knockout format, making the quarter-final a direct route to the semi-finals.
The Indian men’s soft tennis team will also begin its campaign in Group C against Laos before facing Chinese Taipei and Mongolia. Indian athletes will further compete in women’s singles and mixed doubles events in teqball during the day.