India have cleared a contingent of 492 athletes including Neeraj Chopra to compete in Asian Games 2026 from September 19 to October 4 in Aichi-Nagoya in Japan.
Published: August 26, 2026, 5:24 PM IST
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India are sending about 492 athletes for Asian Games 2026 next month(Photo: IANS)
With Japan expressing their inability to accommodate anything more than 15,000 participants at the upcoming Asian Games, the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has sent out an advisory asking national bodies, including that of India, to not seek late additions and keep their contingent sizes to prescribed limitsIndia have cleared 492 athletes, including likes of Neeraj Chopra, to compete in the September 19 to October 4 Games in Aichi-Nagoya, JapanThe support staff contingent is yet to be unveiled as deliberations are still on to finalise the number.
The OCA said it has already accommodated several “daily requests” from a number of member nations to allow late additions to the athletes’ contingent despite the deadline for nominations ending last month.
However, with the local organisers making it clear that the 15,000 threshold cannot be breached, it would not accept anymore requests and would only allow replacements due to accommodation being limited“The support staff is still being worked out because some federations have not named any sports science experts in their recommendationsThe list has been sent back to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and it will take a few more daysBut yes, an advisory has also come which mandates that the contingent sizes not exceed the prescribed limit,” a Sports Authority of India (SAI) source told PTI news agency.
All set!
Meet the Indian Squash team for the upcoming Asian Games 2026.
All the very best! #AsianGames2026@Media_SAI @indiasquash @IndiaSports pic.twitter.com/Is2KhgdKo7
— Doordarshan Sports (@ddsportschannel) August 26, 2026
“The cap on support staff cannot be exceeded and though federations would want several to go with even small squads, they have been asked to cut the numbers and ensure that there is adequate medical staff to assist athletes,” the source added.
The rules cap the size of support staff at 33 per cent of the contingent sizeGoing by the current size of their athletes contingent, India would have to limit the support staff at not more than 162 unless the OCA relaxes the threshold.
But the advisory makes it clear that it would not be done because of the limited accommodation on offer at Aichi-NagoyaAfter the OCA admitted that the current number of athletes and officials ‘significantly’ exceeds the 15,000 mark, the organisers publicly expressed their inability to handle more than the originally envisioned number.
“We cannot accommodate thisWe have made arrangements and budgets based on the host city contract’s capacity of 15,000 people, so we cannot accommodate more than thatThere is no physical place for them to stay, so I wonder what they will do,” Governor of Aichi Prefecture, Hideaki Omura, was quoted as saying by ‘Insidethegames website’.
Nagoya is the capital of Aichi prefecture and the fourth largest city in JapanThe region will be hosting events in 43 disciplines, including cricket, aquatics, hockey, wrestling and archery among others.
India’s participation will be in 35 disciplines with athletics getting the largest representation of 73 in the contingentKeen to ensure that the Games are sustainable, the organisers have decided against creating a traditions Games Village and have made lodging arrangements in container-style huts and a cruise ship that will docked at Nagoya port.
While the ship is expected to accommodate nearly 5000 athletes, another 2400 would be lodged at container hutsThe organisers plan to use these facilities as disaster shelters after the Games.
– With PTI inputs
