India finished the 2026 Asian Games esports competition without a medal. Fifteen Indian players competed in four of the 11 events, and the best results were a quarter-final in Puyo Puyo Champions and fourth place in the League of Legends group. South Korea won the League of Legends gold, sweeping Chinese Taipei 3-0 in the final on 2 October.
Esports was a full medal sport at the Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, with 11 events across 13 game titles, held from 23 September to 2 October at the Aichi Sky Expo (Aichi International Exhibition Center) in Tokoname.
India’s results event by event
| Event | Indian players | Result |
|---|---|---|
| League of Legends | Akshaj “Kat Bot” Shenoy (captain), Aakash “Infi” Shandilya, Sanindhya “Deadcorporal” Malik, Mihir “Lotus” Ranjan, Ahmed “Nero” Shahid, Rahul “Bob” Bisht | Fourth in group, 0-3 |
| Puyo Puyo Champions | Paritosh | Quarter-final |
| eFootball | Danial Patel, Chinmay Sahoo | Group stage |
| Pokémon UNITE | Adnan Mohammed Badshah (captain), Sai Krishna Nalluri, Reuben Godfrey Fernandes, Rudra Narayan Nayak, Dipjyoti Laxman Nath, Deepkumar Vipulbhai Patel | Group stage |
League of Legends
India’s League of Legends team reached the Games through the qualifier in Kuala Lumpur, then lost all three group matches. One of them was against South Korea, who fielded Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok in that game and won it in about 19 minutes. It was Faker’s only appearance as a player at these Games.
Puyo Puyo Champions
Paritosh produced India’s best individual run. He beat players from Mongolia and Singapore in the group stage, then lost 5-0 to South Korea’s Kang Dongshin in the quarter-final.
eFootball
Danial Patel and Chinmay Sahoo were awarded a 0-0 forfeit win over Mongolia but went out in the group stage, with Uzbekistan advancing ahead of them on goal difference.
Pokémon UNITE
India’s six-player team lost to South Korea and to hosts Japan, who went on to win the gold, and did not get out of the group.
Confirmed medal results
These are the esports medals we have been able to confirm from at least one reliable report:
- League of Legends: gold South Korea, silver Chinese Taipei.
- Fighting games team (Tekken 8, Street Fighter 6, The King of Fighters XV): gold South Korea, silver Japan.
- Puyo Puyo Champions: gold Kurihara Yuki (Japan), silver South Korea.
- Pokémon UNITE: gold Japan, bronze South Korea.
- PUBG Mobile: gold Thailand.
- Gran Turismo 7: bronze South Korea.
The full podiums for every event, including eFootball, Honor of Kings, Identity V, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and Naraka: Bladepoint, are on the official Aichi-Nagoya 2026 website.
The League of Legends final
South Korea beat Chinese Taipei 3-0 in the final, in games of 34, 34 and 30 minutes, and won the tournament without dropping a game. Faker stayed on the sidelines for the final, and the winning line-up was Zeus, Canyon, Zeka, Gumayusi and Keria. China did not enter the League of Legends event.
South Korea’s haul
South Korea finished with five esports medals: gold in League of Legends and the new fighting games team event, silver in Puyo Puyo Champions, and bronze in Gran Turismo 7 and Pokémon UNITE. Their fighting games team of Bae Jae-min, Lee Kwang-no and Yeon Je-gil beat Japan to win the event’s first gold on 26 September.
The 11 esports events
| Event | Platform | Format |
|---|---|---|
| eFootball | PC and mobile | Individual |
| Gran Turismo 7 | PlayStation 5 | Individual |
| Puyo Puyo Champions | PC | Individual |
| Fighting games (Street Fighter 6, Tekken 8, The King of Fighters XV) | PC | Team of three, one per title |
| Honor of Kings | Mobile | Team of five |
| League of Legends | PC | Team of five |
| Mobile Legends: Bang Bang | Mobile | Team of five |
| PUBG Mobile | Mobile | Team of five |
| Pokémon UNITE | Nintendo Switch | Team |
| Identity V | Mobile | Team |
| Naraka: Bladepoint | PC | Team |
How India’s team was picked
The 15 players came through the national pathway, including the National Esports Championships, and the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports approved the squad on 22 August 2026. India still has no official Asian Games esports medal. Its only podium finish so far came in 2018, when Tirth Mehta won bronze in Hearthstone at Jakarta, where esports was a demonstration event.
For India’s results in every other sport at the Games, see India at Asian Games 2026.
Updated 7 October 2026. Sources: Talkesport, Outlook Respawn, Inven Global, Insider Gaming and Wikipedia’s Esports at the 2026 Asian Games page.
