The Asian Games 2026 athletics schedule runs from September 23 to 29 at the newly rebuilt Paloma Mizuho Stadium in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, as part of the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026. India has named a 73-member athletics squad led by two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra, and this page covers the complete asian games 2026 athletics schedule — India’s events, medal contenders, qualification and final timings, and where to watch live.
Athletics is traditionally India’s single biggest medal-producing sport at the Asian Games, and the Aichi-Nagoya edition arrives with expectations at an all-time high after India’s best-ever athletics haul at the previous Games. With the asian games athletics 2026 squad now finalised, fans searching for indian athletics team fixtures, event dates, and asian games athletics results will find the full breakdown below.
Asian Games 2026 Athletics Schedule at a Glance
Here is the quick-reference asian games 2026 athletics schedule before the detailed breakdown.
| Phase | Dates | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| Track & field competition (heats through finals) | September 23–29, 2026 | Paloma Mizuho Stadium, Nagoya, Japan |
All track and field events at the 2026 Asian Games are staged at the newly rebuilt Paloma Mizuho Stadium, the same venue hosting the Games’ opening and closing ceremonies, which keeps the asian games 2026 athletics schedule concentrated into a single, high-profile week at the heart of the Games.
Asian Games 2026 Athletics Venue
Every track and field event at the 2026 Asian Games is being held at the Paloma Mizuho Stadium in Nagoya, part of the wider Mizuho Sports Park that also hosts football and rugby sevens. Hosting athletics at the Games’ ceremonial centrepiece venue underlines the sport’s status as one of the marquee attractions of the asian games 2026 athletics schedule.
Track Events
The track programme at athletics asian games 2026 spans the full Olympic-style menu: sprints (100m, 200m, 400m), middle and long distance (800m, 1500m, 5000m, 10,000m), hurdles (110m/100m hurdles, 400m hurdles), the 3000m steeplechase, and relays (4x100m, 4x400m). India’s steeplechase specialist Avinash Sable returns as defending champion in the men’s 3000m steeplechase, while Jyothi Yarraji headlines India’s hurdles challenge in the women’s 100m hurdles.
Field Events
The field programme covers jumps (long jump, triple jump, high jump, pole vault) and throws (shot put, discus, javelin, hammer throw). This is where India’s medal hopes are strongest: Neeraj Chopra defends his javelin throw title as a two-time Olympic medallist, Tajinderpal Singh Toor returns as defending champion in the men’s shot put, Annu Rani defends her women’s javelin title, Rohit Yadav (personal best of 87.68m) offers India a second javelin medal threat, and Murali Sreeshankar headlines the men’s long jump.
Complete Athletics Event Programme
Beyond the individual track and field disciplines, the asian games 2026 athletics schedule also includes combined events and race walking. The men’s decathlon and women’s heptathlon typically run across two consecutive days early in the competition window, testing athletes across ten and seven disciplines respectively. Race walking events (20km and, in some editions, 35km) are usually held on a road course away from the stadium but still count toward the overall athletics medal table. Mixed 4x400m relay has also featured at recent editions alongside the traditional men’s and women’s relay events, giving the programme its widest medal spread of any single sport at the Asian Games.
Because so many disciplines run in parallel across a single week, the asian games athletics 2026 schedule typically sees several finals on the same evening session, making the closing days of the September 23-29 window especially dense with medal action for fans following multiple events at once.
India Athletics Team for Asian Games 2026: Squad & Medal Contenders
India has named a 73-member indian athletics team for the asian games 2026 athletics schedule, captained by Neeraj Chopra and featuring 16 medalists from the previous Games. Five reigning Asian Games champions headline the squad:
- Neeraj Chopra — men’s javelin throw (defending champion)
- Avinash Sable — men’s 3000m steeplechase (defending champion)
- Tajinderpal Singh Toor — men’s shot put (defending champion)
- Parul Chaudhary — women’s distance events (defending champion)
- Annu Rani — women’s javelin throw (defending champion)
Other key medal contenders include Rohit Yadav in men’s javelin, Murali Sreeshankar in men’s long jump, and Jyothi Yarraji in women’s 100m hurdles. For the full list of Indian competitors across every sport at these Games, see our guide to Indian athletes qualified for Asian Games 2026.
India’s Athletics Legacy at the Asian Games
Context matters when you’re tracking the asian games 2026 athletics schedule, and India’s recent record explains the scale of expectation on this squad. At the previous Asian Games, India won 29 athletics medals — 6 gold, 14 silver and 9 bronze — the country’s best-ever athletics haul at the Games. With five defending champions and a deep supporting cast returning for Aichi-Nagoya, the indian athletics team is being watched as a genuine contender to match or beat that tally rather than simply defend it.
That 2023 tally built on years of steady growth for Indian athletics on the Asian stage: from single-digit gold counts in earlier editions to a squad now capable of challenging traditional powerhouses like China and Japan across throws, distance running and hurdles in the same Games. Neeraj Chopra’s rise from a single breakout gold to anchoring a five-strong group of defending champions is often cited as the clearest marker of that shift, and it is a big part of why the asian games 2026 athletics schedule is being followed as closely in India as cricket or hockey coverage typically is.
Qualification and Final Timings
Track and field events at the asian games 2026 athletics schedule follow the standard format: heats and qualification rounds early in the week determine finalists, who then compete in medal finals on later days of the September 23-29 window. Because the detailed day-by-day order of events for Aichi-Nagoya had not been published in full at the time of writing, exact heat and final timings for each of India’s events are marked TBC below and will be updated once the Asian Athletics Association releases the daily schedule.
Daily Medal-Event Table
Fans tracking asian games athletics live coverage can use the table below as a guide to how the week is typically structured, based on the standard Asian Games athletics format.
| Phase of the Week | Typical Events | Status |
|---|---|---|
| September 23–24 (early days) | Heats for sprints, hurdles and distance events; qualification rounds for jumps and throws | TBC exact events per day |
| September 25–27 (mid-week) | Semi-finals and early finals across combined events, throws and distance events | TBC exact events per day |
| September 28–29 (closing days) | Marquee finals including javelin, sprints finals and relays | TBC exact events per day |
Neeraj Chopra’s javelin final and the sprint and relay finals are traditionally scheduled toward the closing days of an Asian Games athletics programme, so fans should watch for the daily order of events as soon as it is confirmed.
Where to Watch Asian Games Athletics 2026 Live in India
Sony Pictures Networks India holds the exclusive broadcast and streaming rights for the entire 20th Asian Games, including every athletics event. Indian fans can follow the complete asian games 2026 athletics schedule through these options:
- TV: Live telecast on Sony Sports Network channels.
- Streaming: Live streaming on the SonyLIV app and website for asian games athletics live updates.
- Live results: Official standings and asian games athletics results via the Asian Athletics Association and the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 organising committee.
With India fielding medal contenders across throws, distance events and hurdles, checking the daily schedule on SonyLIV each morning is the easiest way to avoid missing a live Indian final during this asian games 2026 athletics schedule.
Asian Games 2026 Athletics Schedule: FAQs
When does the Asian Games 2026 athletics schedule start?
Track and field competition at the 2026 Asian Games runs from September 23 to 29, covering heats, qualification rounds and medal finals.
Where is athletics being held at the 2026 Asian Games?
All track and field events are held at the newly rebuilt Paloma Mizuho Stadium in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan.
Who is in India’s athletics team for the Asian Games 2026?
India’s 73-member squad is led by Neeraj Chopra and includes five defending Asian Games champions: Chopra (javelin), Avinash Sable (3000m steeplechase), Tajinderpal Singh Toor (shot put), Parul Chaudhary and Annu Rani (javelin).
Is Neeraj Chopra defending his javelin title at the Asian Games 2026?
Yes. Neeraj Chopra, a two-time Olympic medallist, is seeking his third consecutive Asian Games javelin throw gold in Aichi-Nagoya.
How did India perform in athletics at the previous Asian Games?
India won 29 athletics medals at the previous Asian Games — 6 gold, 14 silver and 9 bronze — its best-ever athletics performance at the Games.
Where can I watch the Asian Games 2026 athletics schedule events live in India?
Every event is available live on Sony Sports Network TV channels and via streaming on the SonyLIV app in India.
For the full multi-sport lineup, check the complete Asian Games 2026 India schedule, and see our coverage of the Asian Games Shooting 2026 Schedule and Asian Games 2026 Badminton Schedule for more of India’s top medal hopes.
Sources: The Tribune, Nagoya Is Not Boring, Outlook India.
