Asian Games 2026, September 23: Mirabai Chanu, Manu Bhaker Among India’s Key Medal Contenders

India’s sporting contingent will be chasing more medals on Wednesday, September 23, as the Asian Games 2026 enters another crucial day in Aichi-Nagoya.

Indian athletes will be competing across 102 events in 17 sports, with shooting, weightlifting, badminton, wushu and hockey among the key disciplines to watch.

All eyes will be on Manu Bhaker in shooting. The double Olympic medallist is scheduled to compete in the women’s 10m air pistol qualification alongside Suruchi Inder Singh and Esha Singh. The trio will also be involved in the team competition, while the shooters who advance will contest the individual final.

Weightlifting will feature another major Indian name as Mirabai Chanu begins her challenge in the women’s 49kg category. The Olympic medallist will be targeting her first Asian Games medal. Gyaneshwari Yadav will later take part in the women’s 53kg event.

India’s men’s badminton team will face a tough test against China in the semifinal. The team secured a medal by defeating Japan in the quarterfinal and will now be looking to reach the gold medal clash. Lakshya Sen, Ayush Shetty, HS Prannoy, Kidambi Srikanth, Tharun Mannepalli and doubles pair Satwik-Chirag are part of India’s squad.

In wushu, Roshibina Devi will compete in the women’s 60kg Sanda semifinal against Indonesia’s Thania Kusumaningtyas. A win would put the Indian fighter into the final and bring her closer to another Asian Games medal.

The women’s hockey team will also be in action against Thailand in a Pool B match. Having won their first two games, India will look to continue their positive start and strengthen their position in the group.

Fencing and rowing will add to India’s busy schedule. Naorem Mina Devi and Ashitha Stalinraj will compete in the women’s foil, while Karan Singh and Gisho Nidhi K.P. are set to feature in the men’s sabre. Indian rowers will also take part in heats across several events.

With medal opportunities in shooting and weightlifting and important contests in badminton, wushu and hockey, September 23 promises a packed schedule for the Indian contingent at the Asian Games.

Asian Games 2026: India’s Full Schedule for September 23

The Indian contingent will be involved in a packed schedule at the Asian Games 2026 on Wednesday, September 23. From shooting and weightlifting to badminton, hockey, fencing and wushu, Indian athletes will compete across several disciplines, with a number of medal events also lined up.

Early Morning Events

• 5:30 AM: Soft Tennis – Jay Meena vs Sherwin Nuguit (Philippines), men’s singles quarterfinal.
• 5:30 AM: Sepaktakraw – India vs Philippines, men’s team regu, Group B preliminary match.
• 5:40 AM: Rowing – Balraj Panwar, men’s single sculls Heat 2.
• 6:00 AM: Rowing – Satnam Singh and Salman Khan, men’s double sculls Heat 3.
• 6:15 AM: Shooting – Manu Bhaker, Suruchi Inder Singh and Esha Singh, women’s 10m air pistol individual and team qualification.
• 6:30 AM: Shooting – Anantjeet Singh Naruka, Bhavtegh Singh Gill and Mairaj Ahmad Khan, men’s skeet qualification, Day 3.
• 6:30 AM: Shooting – Parinaaz Dhaliwal, Raiza Dhillon and Maheshwari Chauhan, women’s skeet qualification, Day 3.
• 6:30 AM: Canoe Sprint – Harshwardhan Shaktawat, Varinder Singh, L Naocha Singh Oinam and Arun Singh, men’s K4 500m Heat 1.
• 6:30 AM: Equestrian – Ashish Limaye and Fouaad Mirza, eventing individual cross-country final, Day 2.
• 6:30 AM: Table Tennis – Harmeet Desai/Yashaswini Ghorpade vs Ismael Mohamed-Ali Fathimath (Maldives), mixed doubles Round of 32.
• 6:30 AM onwards: Fencing – Naorem Mina Devi and Joys Ashitha Stalinraj, women’s foil pool bouts.
• 6:42 AM: Swimming – Rohit Benedicton and Sajan Prakash, men’s 100m butterfly Heat 2.
• 6:50 AM: Canoe Sprint – Megha Pradeep, women’s canoe single 200m Heat 1.
• 6:50 AM: Rowing – Jaswinder Singh and Nitin Kumar, men’s pair Heat 2.
• 7:03 AM: Swimming – Aneesh Sunil Kumar Gowda and Vedaant Madhavan, men’s 200m freestyle Heat 2.
• 7:10 AM: Canoe Sprint – Parvathy Geetha/Phairembam Soniya Devi, women’s kayak double 500m Heat 1.
• 7:10 AM: Rowing – Gurbani Kaur, Poonam, Tendenthoi Devi Haobijam and Aleena Anto, women’s four Heat 1.
• 7:10 AM: Table Tennis – Manush Shah/Diya Chitale vs Chanul Kulappuwawadu/Bimandee Swarn (Sri Lanka), mixed doubles Round of 32.

Morning Sessions

• 8:15 AM onwards: Fencing – Gisho Nidhi K.P. and Karan Singh, men’s sabre pool bouts.
• 8:30 AM: Soft Tennis – Jay Meena, men’s singles semifinal, subject to qualification.
• 8:30 AM: Kabaddi – India vs Iran, women’s Group A preliminary match.
• 8:30 AM onwards: Boxing – Ankush vs Hamsa Vogel (Bahrain), men’s 80kg Round of 16.
• 9:00 AM: Shooting – Manu Bhaker, Suruchi Inder Singh and Esha Singh, women’s 10m air pistol final, subject to qualification.
• 9:30 AM: Fencing – Naorem Mina Devi and Joys Ashitha Stalinraj, women’s foil Round of 32, subject to qualification.
• 9:45 AM: Kabaddi – India vs Bangladesh, men’s Group A preliminary match.
• 9:50 AM: Fencing – Gisho Nidhi K.P. and Karan Singh, men’s sabre Round of 32, subject to qualification.
• 10:00 AM: Weightlifting – Mirabai Chanu, women’s 49kg final, Group A.
• 10:05 AM: Fencing – Naorem Mina Devi and Joys Ashitha Stalinraj, women’s foil Round of 16, subject to qualification.
• 10:15 AM: Table Tennis – Manush Shah/Diya Chitale and Harmeet Desai/Yashaswini Ghorpade, mixed doubles Round of 16.
• 10:25 AM: Fencing – Gisho Nidhi K.P. and Karan Singh, men’s sabre Round of 16, subject to qualification.
• 10:30 AM: Squash – Abhay Singh vs Arkaradet Arkarahirunya (Thailand), men’s singles Round of 32.
• 10:40 AM: Canoe Sprint – Prasanna Kumar CS/Prohit Baroi, men’s kayak double 500m Heat 2.
• 11:00 AM: Canoe Sprint – Megha Pradeep/L Neha Devi, women’s canoe double 500m Heat 2.
• 11:00 AM: Fencing – Women’s foil and men’s sabre quarterfinals, subject to qualification.
• 11:00 AM: Shooting – Parinaaz Dhaliwal, Raiza Dhillon and Maheshwari Chauhan, women’s skeet final, subject to qualification.
• 11:15 AM: Squash – Tanvi Khanna vs Kim Dami (South Korea), women’s singles Round of 32.
• 11:20 AM: Rowing – Rohit/Ujjwal Kumar Singh, men’s lightweight double sculls Heat 1.
• 11:30 AM: Badminton – India vs China, men’s team semifinal.
• 11:30 AM: Hockey – India vs Thailand, women’s Pool B match.
• 12:00 PM: Squash – Veer Chotrani vs Mohamed Shamil Mukthar Wakeel (Sri Lanka), men’s singles Round of 32.

Afternoon Medal Events

• 12:10 PM: Rowing – Arvind Singh, Kulwinder Singh, Navdeep Singh and Jakar Khan, men’s quadruple sculls Heat 2.
• 12:15 PM: Soft Tennis – Jay Meena, men’s singles gold medal match, subject to qualification.
• 12:20 PM: Rowing – Vipul Ghurde, Saurav Kumar, Babu Lal Yadav and Yogesh Kumar, men’s four Heat 1.
• 12:30 PM: Shooting – Anantjeet Singh Naruka, Bhavtegh Singh Gill and Mairaj Ahmad Khan, men’s skeet final.
• 12:50 PM onwards: Fencing – Naorem Mina Devi and Joys Ashitha Stalinraj, women’s foil semifinals, subject to qualification.
• 1:30 PM: Weightlifting – Gyaneshwari Yadav, women’s 53kg final, Group A.
• 1:30 PM onwards: Fencing – Karan Singh and Gisho Nidhi K.P., men’s sabre semifinals, subject to qualification.
• 1:38 PM: Swimming – Rohit Benedicton and Sajan Prakash, men’s 100m butterfly final, subject to qualification.
• 1:54 PM: Swimming – Aneesh Sunil Kumar Gowda and Vedaant Madhavan, men’s 200m freestyle final, subject to qualification.
• 2:10 PM: Fencing – Women’s foil medal bouts, subject to qualification.
• 2:30 PM: Fencing – Men’s sabre medal bouts, subject to qualification.
• 2:30 PM onwards: Wushu – Roshibina Devi vs Thania Kusumaningtyas (Indonesia), women’s Sanda 60kg semifinal.
• 3:50 PM: Esports – Daniel and Chinmay Sahoo, eFootball final, subject to qualification.

With several medal events and key knockout fixtures on the schedule, September 23 could be an important day for India’s campaign at the Asian Games 2026.