Asian Games 2026: Every sport and discipline in Aichi-Nagoya

The 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya will feature 43 sports, 71 disciplines and 469 events, with athletes from across Asia competing between September 19 and October 4.

The programme is broader than the previous edition in terms of sports, but contains fewer medal events than Hangzhou 2022, which featured 40 sports, 61 disciplines and 481 events.

The Aichi-Nagoya programme includes a mix of Olympic sports, established Asian Games disciplines and regional competitions.

The 43 sports are:

1. Aquatics — Swimming, Diving, Artistic Swimming, Water Polo

2. Archery — Recurve, Compound

3. Athletics — Track and Field, Marathon, Race Walk

4. Badminton

5. Baseball/Softball

6. Basketball — 5x5, 3x3

7. Boxing

8. Breaking

9. Canoe/Kayaking — Canoe Sprint, Canoe Slalom

10. Combat Sports — Jiu-Jitsu, Kurash, MMA

11. Cricket — T20

12. Cycling

13. Equestrian

14. Esports

15. Fencing

16. Football

17. Golf

18. Gymnastics

19. Handball

20. Hockey

21. Judo

22. Kabaddi

23. Karate

24. Modern Pentathlon

25. Rowing

26. Rugby — Rugby Sevens

27. Sailing

28. Sepak Takraw

29. Shooting

30. Skateboarding

31. Sport Climbing

32. Squash

33. Surfing

34. Table Tennis

35. Taekwondo

36. Tennis

37. Triathlon

38. Volleyball

39. Weightlifting

40. Wrestling

41. Wushu

42. Teqball

43. Padel

The core programme was approved by the Olympic Council of Asia in July 2025 as 41 sports, 68 disciplines and 460 events (217 men’s, 204 women’s and 39 mixed).

Padel and teqball were later added, taking the programme to 43 sports, 71 disciplines and 469 events.

What has changed from Hangzhou 2022?

The additions to the headline include surfing, which will make its Asian Games debut in Aichi-Nagoya. Mixed martial arts (MMA) will also debut as part of the combat-sports programme.

Padel and teqball have likewise been added. India is among the countries sending athletes to compete in surfing at the Games.

At the same time, several disciplines that featured at Hangzhou 2022 are not part of the 2026 programme. These include bridge, chess, Go, Xiangqi (Chinese chess) and dragon boat.

Hangzhou also had roller sports, including roller skating, while Aichi-Nagoya retains skateboarding as a standalone sport. Soft tennis remains on the programme as a tennis discipline.

The Hangzhou programme also included these board games and additional disciplines within its 40-sport structure.

There is also an important structural change in combat sports. At Hangzhou, ju-jitsu and kurash were listed separately, whereas Aichi-Nagoya groups them under Combat Sports, alongside MMA.

This contributes to the difference between the overall sports and discipline counts. Meanwhile, breaking and esports, which made their official Asian Games debut at Hangzhou 2022, remain on the programme for Aichi-Nagoya.

Their continued inclusion reflects the Games’ effort to combine established Asian sporting disciplines with newer formats.

Overall, Aichi-Nagoya will have three more sports than Hangzhou but 12 fewer medal events, with the changes reflecting both the host country’s sporting priorities and the Olympic Council of Asia’s reshaping of the competition programme.