Asian Games 2026: Top athletes and storylines to look out for

Asia’s biggest athletics stars volition descend connected Japan this week to conflict it retired for continental glory arsenic the Asian Games get nether way.

Aichi-Nagoya 2026 volition spot respective athletes eyeing first-time podium finishes portion others look to support their crown.

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This year’s variation volition spot six sports marque their debut, portion successful immoderate sports, a golden medal volition treble arsenic automatic qualification for the LA 2028 Olympics.

From Olympic champions to teen sensations to breakout stars, Al Jazeera Sport takes a look astatine immoderate of the apical athletes to watch:

Alex Eala, Philippines — tennis

Tennis’s newest sweetheart volition beryllium the favourite for golden successful women’s singles. The 21-year-old Filipino prima is coming disconnected a career-high play that saw her archetypal WTA 1000 rubric past period and a third-round finish astatine the US Open.

Eala volition vie astatine the Singapore Open conscionable earlier the games, but volition skip the concurrent Beijing Open – regardless of whether the WTA determine to punish her – since a golden medal astatine the Asian Games serves arsenic automatic qualification for the LA 2028 Olympics.

Defending champion Zheng Qinwen and erstwhile satellite fig 1 Naomi Osaka volition not beryllium competing successful Japan, leaving it wide unfastened for Eala to assertion golden and upgrade from the bronze she won successful 2022.

Eala acknowledges the assemblage aft defeating Mary Stoiana successful the archetypal circular of the US Open successful New York [Adam Hunger/AP Photo]

Rumesh Pathirage, Sri Lanka — javelin

The javelin phenom has been collecting golden medals similar Pokemon cards this year, and different 1 astatine the Asian Games volition adhd to his Diamond League, Commonwealth, and Ultimate Champion crowns.

But golden is not the biggest prize for the 23-year-old, though it is astir guaranteed aft his nearest contender, India’s Neeraj Chopra, withdrew with injury. Pathirage is eyeing the Asian grounds of 92.97m acceptable by Arshad Nadeem astatine the Paris 2024 Olympics, which helium is poised to interruption aft becoming the lone thrower this play to breach 92m twice.

Pakistan’s Nadeem, connected the different hand, is acold from acceptable and volition beryllium fortunate to extremity his play with a medal aft a drawstring of subpar throws.

Pathirage celebrates with the trophy aft his triumph successful men’s javelin astatine the World Athletics Ultimate Championship successful Budapest connected September 13, 2026 [Ben Stansall/AFP]

Haruka Kitaguchi, Japan — javelin

Home favourite Kitaguchi is eyeing golden successful the women’s javelin aft being crowned Ultimate Champion successful Budapest past week. Her 68.92m propulsion landed her a caller nationalist grounds and is tied for 10th-best successful the satellite and second-best this season.

Surprisingly, the 28-year-old is making her Asian Games debut and volition look to adhd continental golden successful beforehand of the location assemblage aft floundering astatine past year’s World Athletics Championships successful Tokyo.

Yan Ziyi, China — javelin

Another javelin powerhouse to ticker is satellite fig 1 Yan Ziyi. She became lone the sixth pistillate successful past to surpass the 70m people with her 71.74m propulsion successful May that became a caller Asian and World Under-20 record.

The Chinese teen sensation was unbeaten passim the 5 Diamond League competitions she contested, but finished 2nd to Kitaguchi astatine the Ultimate Championship aft withdrawing with wounded aft 1 throw.

Should she retrieve successful time, the 18-year-old tin snatch backmost the crown from the Japanese seasoned thrower to extremity the play connected a precocious note.

Yan Ziyi heads to the Asian Games arsenic satellite fig 1 successful the women’s javelin propulsion [Lintao Zhang/Getty Images/File]

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, India — cricket

As India look to support their men’s cricket crown, each eyes are connected 15-year-old Sooryavanshi to nutrient different phenomenal effect connected the pitch.

The left-handed top-order batter has already made headlines for being a generational talent, having breached records arsenic the highest scorer successful this year’s Indian Premier League and go India’s youngest men’s player.

India’s Vaibhav Sooryavanshi successful enactment astatine the 3rd India v England T20I successful Nottingham [Andrew Boyers/Reuters]

Pan Zhanle, China — swimming

The Olympic champion returns to the stomping grounds wherever helium archetypal went sub-47 seconds successful the men’s 100m freestyle – and became the archetypal Asian antheral to bash truthful – to interruption his ain Asian record.

It was besides connected location ungraded astatine the Hangzhou 2022 games that helium bagged a metallic successful the 200m and 400m freestyle, a bronze successful the 50m, and a golden successful the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay and 4x100m medley relay.

Pan Zhanle celebrates aft winning the men’s 100m freestyle last astatine the 2024 Summer Olympics [Petr David Josek/AP Photo]

Yu Zidi, China — swimming

The Chinese prodigy was lone 12 erstwhile she made waves arsenic the youngest-ever medallist astatine the 2025 World Swimming Championships. She narrowly missed a podium decorativeness successful her idiosyncratic events but recovered redemption astatine the Chinese National Swimming Championships aboriginal that twelvemonth with 2 golds, 1 silver, and an Asian grounds successful the 200m Individual Medley.

Now 13, she is looking to predominate astatine her first, hopefully of many, Asian Games wherever she’s entered successful the 200m IM, 400m IM and 200m butterfly events, alongside relays.

While grooming with the China squad successful Beijing, she told section media this period she was “excited” for her Asian Games debut.

“Train well, don’t slack off. Demonstrate the level of your grooming and enactment hard to interruption past yourself,” she said, according to authorities quality bureau Xinhua.

Yu Zidi of China competes successful the Women’s 200m idiosyncratic medley last astatine the China Open Swimming Championship successful Shenzhen, China connected March 22, 2026 [Lintao Zhang/Getty]