Two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra will spearhead a 73-member Indian athletics team at Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, scheduled from September 19 to October 4.
As many as 16 athletes in India’s Aichi-Nagoya 2026 squad won medals at the previous Asian Games in Hangzhou, including five individual champions returning to defend their titles.
Neeraj Chopra will arrive in Japan as the two-time defending Asian Games champion. The Indian javelin throw ace will be joined in the event by Rohit Yadav, who improved his personal best to 87.68m while winning at the World Athletics Silver Level Continental Tour meet in Bhubaneswar on Saturday.
Commonwealth Games 2026 bronze medallist Yash Vir Singh misses out, with only two Indians selected for the men’s javelin throw.
Alongside Chopra, Avinash Sable, Tajinderpal Singh Toor, Parul Chaudhary and Annu Rani will return to defend the individual titles they won at Hangzhou 2023.
Rajesh Ramesh, a member of India’s gold medal-winning men’s 4x400m relay team in Hangzhou, is also part of the squad.
Avinash Sable won the 3000m steeplechase gold and 5000m silver three years ago. The national record holder has endured an injury-hit spell since undergoing surgery on his right knee last year and missed the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
Tajinderpal Singh Toor, meanwhile, will be chasing a hat-trick of Asian Games shot put titles.
Parul Chaudhary, who won the 5000m gold and 3000m steeplechase silver in Hangzhou, has been selected for three events in Aichi-Nagoya – the 1500m, 5000m and 3000m steeplechase.
Jyothi Yarraji, who missed the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, will return to major international competition in the 100m hurdles. She won the silver medal in the event at Hangzhou 2023.
Murali Sreeshankar will head to Japan after winning his second Commonwealth Games silver medal in the long jump in Glasgow. The Indian jumper was also the silver medallist at the previous Asian Games.
Tejaswin Shankar, Gulveer Singh, Mohammed Afsal, Ancy Sojan, Praveen Chithravel and Vithya Ramraj are the other Hangzhou 2023 medallists named in the Indian athletics squad.
Tejas Shirse has also been selected for the 110m hurdles despite sustaining two stress fractures in his left foot during the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
India will head to Aichi-Nagoya looking to build on a historic athletics campaign at Hangzhou 2023. The Indian contingent won 29 medals – six gold, 14 silver and nine bronze – their best Asian Games athletics haul since the inaugural edition in 1951.
Athletics was also India’s most successful sport at Hangzhou 2023 in terms of total medals won.
read more: https://www.olympics.com/en/news/asian-games-2026-india-athletics-team-squad
