IMAGE: India women's hockey players celebrate winning the gold medal at the Asian Games which also sealed their qualification for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games. Photograph: Manami Yamada/Reuters
The 20th edition of the Asian Games is being held in Nagoya, Japan, from September 19 to October 4, 2026.
The first Asian Games were held in New Delhi in 1951 after India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru advocated for the Games to foster closer bond between Asian nations following the second World War.
This is the third time that Japan is hosting the Asian Games after 1958 (Tokyo) and 1994 (Hiroshima).
Medals table of the 2026 Asian Games:
| Rank | Countries | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | 167 | 89 | 82 | 338 |
| 2 | Japan | 81 | 90 | 90 | 261 |
| 3 | South Korea | 37 | 43 | 67 | 147 |
| 4 | India | 21 | 27 | 37 | 85 |
| 5 | Uzbekistan | 21 | 25 | 24 | 70 |
| 6 | Iran | 18 | 18 | 15 | 51 |
| 7 | Thailand | 18 | 13 | 21 | 52 |
| 8 | Kazakhstan | 12 | 24 | 46 | 82 |
| 9 | Hong Kong, China | 11 | 19 | 24 | 54 |
| 10 | Bahrain | 11 | 5 | 6 | 22 |
| 11 | Malaysia | 9 | 6 | 16 | 31 |
| 12 | North Korea | 7 | 12 | 9 | 28 |
| 13 | United Arab Emirates | 7 | 4 | 1 | 12 |
| 14 | Chinese Taipei | 5 | 17 | 33 | 55 |
| 15 | Indonesia | 5 | 11 | 23 | 39 |
| 16 | Qatar | 5 | 6 | 5 | 16 |
| 17 | Philippines | 4 | 9 | 16 | 29 |
| 18 | Kuwait | 4 | 1 | 4 | 9 |
| 19 | Vietnam | 3 | 3 | 19 | 25 |
| 20 | Saudi Arabia | 3 | 2 | 9 | 14 |
| 21 | Singapore | 2 | 9 | 7 | 18 |
| 22 | Tajikistan | 2 | 5 | 9 | 16 |
| 23 | Jordan | 2 | 3 | 6 | 11 |
| 24 | Myanmar | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| 25 | Macao, China | 1 | 4 | 1 | 6 |
| 26 | Kyrgyzstan | 1 | 3 | 10 | 14 |
| 27 | Mongolia | 1 | 1 | 13 | 15 |
| 28 | Sri Lanka | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 29 | Pakistan | 0 | 2 | 8 | 10 |
| 30 | Iraq | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| 31 | Turkmenistan | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 32 | Afghanistan | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 33 | Lebanon | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 34 | Oman | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 35 | Cambodia | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| 36 | Nepal | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 37 | Bangladesh | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 38 | Brunei Darussalam | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 39 | Laos | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 40 | Syria | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
