By Ravi - Apr 30, 2025 05:26 PM
The 2026 Asian Games, officially the 20th Asian Games or Aichi-Nagoya 2026, will be held in Japan's Aichi Prefecture from 19 September to 4 October 2026, with Nagoya as its main centre. It will be Japan's third hosting the event, following Tokyo in 1958 and Hiroshima in 1994. The Games will return to a four-year cycle after the 2022 Hangzhou edition was postponed to 2023 due to COVID-19.
The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has announced that cricket has been re-included in the Asian Games 2026. The 41st Annual General Meeting of the OCA was held on 28 April in Bangkok, Thailand, where it was decided to retain cricket in the programme of the Asian Games 2026. The 20th Asian Games 2026 will be held in Aichi and Nagoya, Japan from 19 September to 4 October. Around 15,000 athletes will participate in it. The OCA said that both cricket and mixed martial arts have been formally included in the sports programme.
Cricket will be included in the Asian Games for the fourth time. Cricket was first included in the Asian Games at Guangzhou 2010. It later returned at Incheon 2014, although these matches were not given international status. India were the winners of the Asian Games held in Hangzhou China in 2023. Cricket will be a part of the games for the fourth time in 2026.
After Incheon 2014, the Asian Games were dropped from Jakarta 2018. Cricket returns at Hangzhou 2023, with all matches granted international status by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
India won gold in both the men's and women's events at Hangzhou 2023. Afghanistan and Sri Lanka won silver in the men's and women's events, while Bangladesh won bronze in both. The 2026 Asian Games will be held in Aichi.
Cricket is set to return to the Olympics at LA 2028 after more than a century. Cricket has only been played once before, at Paris 1900, when Great Britain won gold by beating France in a Test match.
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