Asian Games 2026: Cricket, hockey expected to be favourites to bring in gold
For India, the expectations on the hockey and cricket teams will be massive. The cricket teams come into the tournament as outright favourites to dominate the field, just like they did last time. Led by Shreyas Iyer and Harmanpreet Kaur respectively, the Indian men’s and women’s cricket teams will be hoping that their star power is enough to seal automatic qualification into LA Olympics 2028.
When it comes to hockey, things haven’t been great off the field for India. The power struggle in Hockey India, plus the whole controversy of the jersey hogged the limelight during the World Cups last month. In terms of performance in Belgium and the Netherlands, the Indian men’s team finished 8th and failed to live up to the biling. But the women’s team punched above their weight and stunned everyone with a fifth-place finish.
ASIAN GAMES 2026: FULL COVERAGE
Despite this, both teams will be heading into the Asian Games with the favourites tag firmly attached on to them and hoping to do better than their recent performance during the World Cups.
SOORYAVANSHI, BUMRAH LEAD CRICKET CONTINGENT
The Asian Games will be bracing itself for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi storm in Japan as the 15-year-old is expected to play a key role during India’s campaign.
While he may haven’t got a lot of time in the middle recently, but his strike-rate of 189.21 will have teams looking to find a way to stop him.
Add to this the fact that India’s bowling lineup will be lead by Jasprit Bumrah, who is gunning for a medal. Bumrah impressed during the Afghanistan series after coming from an injury layoff.
The Indian women’s team are fresh off their Women’s Asia Cup win and will hope to dominate the field. Led by Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma upfront and having the presence of Harmanpreet Kaur in the middle, the batting remains one of the best in the pack.
Deepti Sharma, Sree Charani and Prema Rawat will provide the spin options and the return of Shreyanka Patil comes as a timely boost.
CAN WOMEN’S HOCKEY TEAM DELIVER GOLD?
The Indian women’s hockey team appears to be on the rise. Sjoerd Marijne, during his second stint, has been able to foster a feeling of togetherness within the squad, and they showed it during the women’s hockey World Cup last month.
They gave the defendings Asian Games champions a run of their money in their opening match of the tournament, that ended 2-2. Salima Tete will be leading the team and it seems to have a fine mix of youth and experience throughout its ranks.
If India can replicate the same performance that they did last month, then it will end a 44-year wait for an Asian Games gold for the women’s team.
For the men, anything less than gold will be considered to be a failure. The Indian men romped to gold last time around in China and then secured the Asia Cup win on home soil last year.
With none of the Asian teams in the top 10, this is a chance for the Indian men to shake off the poor performance at the World Cup and seal Olympic qualification.
INDIA’S ASIAN GAMES RECORD IN CRICKET AND HOCKEY
Men’s Hockey has been a part of the Asian Games since 1958 and the early part of the competition was dominated by India and Pakistan. Women’s hockey was introduced in 1982 in New Delhi and India were the inaugural winners. But since then, they haven’t been able to recapture the gold medal.
The men’s team has won four gold, nine silver and three bronze medals during their time in the Asian Games. The women’s team have one gold, two silver and four bronze medals.
Cricket made its Asian Games debut in 2010 and has featured on the programme ever since, with the sole exception of the 2018 edition.
In 2022, India made their first bow and ended up winning both the gold medals.
INDIA’S CRICKET SQUADS AT ASIAN GAMES 2026
Men’s squad: Shreyas Iyer (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (VC), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Yash Thakur
Women’s squad: Renuka Thakur, Arundhati Reddy, Shafali Verma, Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Bharti Fulmali, Kranti Gaud, Richa Ghosh, G Kamalini, Smriti Mandhana (VC), Sree Charani, Shreyanka Patil, Pratika Rawal, Deepti Sharma, Nandani Sharma, Radha Yadav
INDIA’S HOCKEY SQUADS AT ASIAN GAMES 2026
MEN’S SQUAD:
Goalkeepers: Mohith HS, Suraj Karkera
Defenders: Jarmanpreet Singh, Harmanpreet Singh (c), Amit Rohidas, Jugraj Singh, Sanjay Rana, Sumit, Yashdeep Siwach
Midfielders: Rajinder Singh, Raj Kumar Pal, Hardik Singh, Manpreet Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Vivek Sagar Prasad
Forwards: Dilpreet Singh, Shilanand Lakra, Sukhjeet Singh, Mandeep Singh, Abhishek
WOMEN’S SQUAD:
Goalkeepers: Savita Punia, Bichu Devi Kharibam
Defenders: Ishika Chaudhary, Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam, Lalthantluangi, Jyoti, Shilpi Dabas
Midfielders: Nikki Pradhan, Sakshi Rana, Sunelita Toppo, Salima Tete (c), Neha, Deepika Soreng
Forwards: Lalremsiami, Rutuja Pisal, Navneet Kaur, Deepika, Ishika, Baljeet Kaur, Beauty Dungdung
INDIA’S HOCKEY MEDALS AT ASIAN GAMES
MEN’S TEAM: 4 Gold (1966, 1998, 2014, 2022), 9 Silver (1958, 1962, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1990, 1994, 2002) 3 Bronze (1986, 2010, 2018)
WOMEN’S TEAM: 1 Gold (1982), 2 Silver (1998, 2018), 4 Bronze (1986, 2006, 2014, 2022)
INDIA’S CRICKET MEDALS AT ASIAN GAMES
MEN’S TEAM: 1 Gold (2022)
WOMEN’S TEAM: 1 Gold (2022)
CRICKET SCHEDULE FOR ASIAN GAMES 2026
Men’s Schedule:
- September 28: India vs TBD, 2nd Quarterfinal at 10:30 AM IST
- October 1: 1st semifinal at 5:30 AM IST
- October 1: 2nd semifinal at 10:30 AM IST
- October 3: 3rd place playoff at 5:30 AM IST
- October 3: Final at 10:30 AM IST
Women’s Schedule:
- September 18: India vs Japan, 4th quarterfinal at 10:30 AM IST
- September 20: 1st semifinal at 5:30 AM IST
- September 20: 2nd semifinal at 10:30 AM IST
- September 22: 3rd place playoff at 5:30 AM IST
- September 22: Final at 10:30 AM IST
HOCKEY SCHEDULE FOR ASIAN GAMES 2026
Men’s
- September 20: India vs Indonesia at 11:30 AM IST
- September 22: India vs Sri Lanka at 3:30 PM IST
- September 24: Korea vs India at 11:30 AM IST
- September 26: Japan vs India at 1:30 PM IST
- September 28: India vs Bangladesh at 3:30 PM IST
- October 1: Semi-final 1 at 1 PM IST
- October 1: Semi-final 2 at 3:30 PM IST
- October 3: Bronze medal match at 1 PM IST
- October 3: Gold medal match at 3:30 PM IST
Women’s
- September 20: India vs Uzbekistan at 7:30 AM IST
- September 21: India vs Indonesia at 9:30 AM IST
- September 23: Thailand vs India at 11:30 AM IST
- September 25: Japan vs India at 7:30 AM IST
- September 27: India vs Singapore at 3:30 PM IST
- September 30: Semi-final 1 at 1 PM IST
- September 30: Semi-final 2 at 3:30 PM IST
- October 2: Bronze medal match at 1 PM IST
- October 2: Gold medal match at 3:30 PM IST
– Ends
