Asian Games 2026: key sports and stars to watch
The 20th Asian Games will take place from September 19 to October 4 in Nagoya, Japan. The extensive competition program will feature many popular sports, ranging from athletics and football to cri... This article ( Asian Games 2026: key sports and stars to watch ) first appeared on The Independent Singapore News .
The 20th Asian Games are set to be held in Nagoya, Japan from September 19 to October 4. Competitors will be involved in a wide array of sports spanning athletics, cricket, combat sports, esports, and football.
Athletics will dominate a significant portion of the competition, with running, hurdling, jumping, throwing, combined events, marathon, and race walking. China's national team won 19 gold medals in athletics at the previous Games in Hangzhou, making them the top favorites once more.
Japan, with its home crowd support, will also be a strong contender in athletics, featuring javelin thrower Haruka Kitaguchi, who has claimed gold at the World Championships and the Olympics in Paris.
Cricket, a sport with an impressive history at the Asian Games, will feature the men's and women's tournaments in the fast-paced T20 format. India aims to defend its two gold medals from the previous Games in China, while India's women's team stars, Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, and Shafali Verma, are drawing attention from cricket fans worldwide.
Combat sports, including judo, wrestling, boxing, kurash, wushu, jiu-jitsu, and MMA, promise to be action-packed. MMA makes its debut in the Asian Games, garnering millions of fans globally.
Esports, now a part of the Asian Games medal program for the second year in a row, will see top players competing in 13 popular games, including League of Legends, PUBG Mobile, and Gran Turismo 7. A combined team tournament featuring fighting games Street Fighter 6, Tekken 8, and The King of Fighters XV will also take place.
Football, the world's most popular sport, also features prominently at the Asian Games. National U-23 teams will compete in the men's tournament, with no age restrictions for the women's teams. The men's tournament begins on September 15, with Group D featuring South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Uzbekistan, and Japan, all featuring strong young footballers. Top contenders for the women's football tournament are Japan, South Korea, and China.
Written by urgent.news from The Independent Singapore's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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