Indian athletes Pawan Sehrawat and Manu Bhaker wave the national flag at the opening ceremony of the Asian Games 2026Scroll down to read the full story.
Published: September 19, 2026, 6:00 PM IST
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Pawan Sehrawat and Manu Bhaker wave India’s flag at the Asian Games 2026 opening ceremony
Star Indian athlete Pawan Sehrawat and Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker carried the Indian flag and led the Indian team at the opening ceremony of the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya on Saturday.
The ceremony was held at the Paloma Mizuho Stadium and officially started the 20th Asian GamesIndia has a 503-athlete team competing in 36 sports.
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WATCH: Manu Bhaker and Pawan Sehrawat lead Team India in proud tricolour moment at Asian Games 2026
Pawan Sehrawat, who was part of India’s gold-winning kabaddi team at the last Asian Games, had another special moment as he carried the Tricolour at the opening ceremony with Manu Bhaker.
Bhaker, who has won two Olympic medals, is one of India’s key athletes at the GamesShe won two bronze medals at the Paris 2024 Olympics and will take part in the women’s 10m air pistol, women’s 25m pistol and 10m air pistol mixed team events.
Her two medals in Paris also made her the first athlete from independent India to win two medals at one Olympic Games.
In a video before the ceremony, Manu Bhaker said she felt very happy and proud to be chosen as one of India’s flag-bearersShe said the moment took her back to her early days in the sport and made her think about how much she has grown since then.
“Honestly, when I found out yesterday, I had all these flashback memories of my earlier daysAnd, you know, when I started, I never thought that this was where I could reach one day in my sportSo, it is definitely a very heartwarming feelingI feel really proud, really honoured, and really, really happy to be chosen as the flag bearer for my countryI just want to say thank you to God and thank you to everyone for all the love and support,” she said.
Pawan Sehrawat became India’s male flag-bearer after shot put player Tajinderpal Singh Toor could not take part due to technical issuesSehrawat will also aim to help India win another gold medal in men’s kabaddi.
India has done very well in the Asian Games kabaddiSince the men’s team event started in 1990, India has won the gold medal eight times in nine editionsThe only time India missed out was in 2018, when the team won bronze.
At the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, India defeated Iran 33-29 to win the men’s kabaddi gold medal.
India will also try to improve its medal record from the 2022 GamesIndia won 107 medals there, including 28 gold, 38 silver and 41 bronze.
