Asian Para Games 2026: List of participating countries and India's rival nations to watch

The fifth edition of the Asian Para Games is set to begin with the opening ceremony at the Paloma Mizuho Stadium in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, on October 18.

The seven-day quadrennial event will see over 2,500 athletes from 45 countries compete for 492 medal events across 18 different para sports.

India is sending 168 athletes (112 men, 56 women) to these Games, led by the Tokyo Paralympic medalists Pramod Bhagat and Bhavina Patel.

India will compete in 11 sports and will begin its action two days before the opening ceremony on 16th October, with group stage matches in Para Badminton, Para Table Tennis and  Blind Football.

China has been the most dominant nation at the Asian Para Games, amassing more than 1,500 medals across the first four editions, and remains the clear favourite to top the table once again.

Iran, South Korea and Japan are expected to be India’s main rivals in key medal-hunting sports such as para athletics, para shooting and para archery.

While India will aim to challenge these powerhouses on the overall medal tally, it may fall short of the very top spots. The primary target will be a top-five finish, ahead of nations like Thailand, Uzbekistan and Indonesia.

List of Countries at the 2026 Asian Para Games 

Biggest contingents

• China (312)
• Japan (284)
• Thailand (265)
• South Korea (214)
• India (168)
• Iran (161)
• Uzbekistan (151)
• Kazakhstan (145)
• Indonesia (103)

Others: Iraq (83), Hong Kong (80), Chinese Taiipei (71), Philippines (69), Malaysia (63), Mongolia (44), UAE (43), Saudi Arabia (42), Nepal (23), Kuwait (21), Vietnam (21), Kyrgyzstan (20), Singapore (20), Sri Lanka (20), Cambodia (17), Bahrian (14), Jordan (13), Laos (13), Macao (13), Oman (13), Bangladesh (12), Tajikistan (12), Qatar (11), Pakistan (9), Myanmar (7), Afghanistan (5), Palestine (5), Timor Leste (4), Bhutan (3), Maldives (3), Turkmenistan (3), Lebanon (2), North Korea (2), Yemen (2), Brunei (1), Syria (1)