India’s contingent continues its campaign on the eighth day of the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi‑Nagoya, Japan. The Saturday programme features Indian athletes in fifteen different disciplines, ranging from individual track events to team contests such as kabaddi and hockey. All timings listed below follow Indian Standard Time (IST).
Archery and Athletics: Early Morning Action
Archery opens the day with multiple qualification rounds. At 4:30 a.m., the men’s recurve individual and team qualifiers see Dhiraj Bommadevara, Yashdeep Bhoge and Neeraj Chauhan take aim, while the women’s compound qualifiers feature Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Prithika Pradeep and Chikitha Taniparthi. A second wave of archery events begins at 9 a.m., including the women’s recurve individual and team qualifiers (Kirti, Kumkuk Mohod, Ankita Bhakat), the mixed recurve team, the men’s compound individual and team qualifiers (Kushal Dalal, Sahil Jadhav, Ganesh Mani Ratnam Thirumuru) and the mixed compound team.
Athletics also starts before dawn. The men’s marathon final kicks off at 4 a.m., with Sawan Barwal and Kartik Karkera representing India. The decathlon schedule spreads throughout the morning, beginning with the 100‑metre heats at 5:35 a.m., followed by the long jump at 6:15 a.m. and the shot put at 7:55 a.m., all featuring Tejaswin Shankar and Thowfeeq Noushad. The men’s 200 m round‑one heats commence at 8 a.m., while the women’s long jump qualification is slated for 8:10 a.m., with Shaili Singh and Ancy Sojan competing.
Afternoon athletics events include the men’s decathlon high jump at 2:35 p.m., the women’s 100 m hurdles round‑one at 4:04 p.m., and the women’s 200 m round‑one at 4:25 p.m. The men’s shot put final is scheduled for 4:30 p.m., featuring Tajinderpal Singh and Karanveer Singh. Later in the evening, the men’s 200 m semifinals (4:54 p.m.) and the men’s triple jump final (5:05 p.m.) will see Animesh Kujur, Praveen Chithravel and Karthik Unnikrishnan compete. The day concludes with the men’s 1500 m round‑one heats at 5:21 p.m., the decathlon 400 m heats at 5:50 p.m., and the women’s 400 m final at 6:15 p.m., where Kiran and Prachi will race. The men’s 400 m final (6:33 p.m.) and the women’s 1500 m final (6:45 p.m.) round out the track schedule.
Badminton, Boxing and Combat Sports
Badminton action starts early with the men’s singles second round at 6 a.m., where Lakshya Sen faces Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew. The women’s singles second round is slated for no earlier than 11:30 a.m., pitting Unnati Hooda against Malaysia’s Wong Ling Ching. Additional second‑round matches are pending confirmation for Ayush Shetty (Kazakhstan) and P.V. Sindhu (Chinese Taipei). Women’s doubles second round (not before 2:30 p.m.) will see the Indian pair Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand take on Japan’s Mayu Matsumoto and Yuki Fukushima. Both men’s and women’s singles third rounds (round of 16) are also scheduled for Saturday, with exact times yet to be announced.
Boxing features three round‑of‑16 bouts. At 10:15 a.m., Jadumani Singh Mandengbam will meet Philippines’ Carlo Paalam in the men’s 55 kg category. The men’s 90 kg round‑of‑16 is set for 2:15 p.m., with Kapil Pokhariya facing Iran’s Sam Estaki. The women’s 60 kg round‑of‑16 will take place at 5:45 p.m., where Priya Ghanghas squares off against Korea’s Oh Yeonji.
Fencing sees both men’s sabre and women’s foil teams entering the table of 16 at 6 a.m. and 7 a.m., respectively. The Indian women’s foil team – Joys Ashitha Stalinraj, Mina Devi Naorem, Kanupriya Chawla and Sonia Devi Waikhom – will clash with Indonesia, while the men’s sabre team – Vishal Thapar, Gisho Nidhi Kumaresan Padma, Karan Singh and Lakshay Badser – will compete against an unspecified opponent. Quarter‑finals for both teams are slated for 8 a.m., with semifinals and potential finals spread across the afternoon, subject to qualification.
Team Sports, Water Events and Emerging Disciplines
Team sports feature prominently. In kabaddi, the women’s team final is scheduled for 9:30 a.m., with India set to meet Iran, followed by the men’s team final at 2:30 p.m. Hockey’s men’s pool‑A match against Japan will be contested at 1:30 p.m.
Water‑based competitions begin with canoe sprint. Harshwardhan Singh Shaktawat will race the men’s kayak single 500 m semifinals at 6:30 a.m., with a potential final (A or B) at 7:50 a.m. and 8:10 a.m., respectively. Mixed kayak double and canoe double events also feature, with Parvathy Geetha & Prasanna Kumar Chempadiyil Sathyaprakash and Raju Rawat & Neha Devi Leichonbam slated for semifinals and finals between 6:50 a.m. and 8:30 a.m.
Equestrian dressage sees four Indian riders – Gaurav Pundir, Hriday Chheda, Shruti Vora and Jai Sud – competing in the second individual qualifier at 6 a.m. Shooting events begin at 6:15 a.m. with the women’s 50 m rifle three‑position qualification and team final, involving Tilottama Sen, Ashi Chouksey and Vidarsa K. Vinod. The individual final for the same discipline is slated for 9:30 a.m., contingent on qualification.
Esports enters the programme with a Pokémon UNITE group‑C match at 10:45 a.m., where the Indian squad – Adnan Mohammed Badshah, Rudra Narayan Nayak, Deepkumar Vipulbhai Patel, Sai Krishna Nalluri, Dipjyoti Laxman Nath and Reuben Godfrey Fernandes – will face Japan.
Squash features mixed doubles semifinals at 8:30 a.m., women’s singles semifinals at 10:30 a.m., and men’s singles semifinals at 11:15 a.m., with Indian representatives Velavan Senthilkumar/Joshna Chinappa, Anahat Singh and Abhay Singh respectively.
Surfing sees Indian women’s shortboard competitors Kamali Prakash and Sugar Shanti Gayen in heats at 10:13 a.m. and 11:09 a.m., while the men’s shortboard round‑two heat (12:05 p.m.) includes Sivaraj Babu.
Table tennis starts with the women’s singles round of 16 at 6:30 a.m., where Yashaswini Ghorpade will meet Japan’s Miwa Harimoto. The men’s singles round of 16 follows at 8:45 a.m., with Manush Shah taking on China’s Lin Shidong.
Sailing opens with the mixed dinghy series at 9:30 a.m., featuring Shraddha Verma and Ravindra Kumar Sharma. Men’s and women’s skiff series commence at 10:30 a.m. and 10:40 a.m., with crews Manu Francis & Prince Kurisinkal Noble and Harshita Tomar & Shital Verma respectively.
Overall, Day 8 presents a densely packed schedule for Indian athletes across a broad spectrum of sports. The performances on September 26 will shape India’s medal prospects as the Asian Games progress toward their conclusion.
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