Esports returns to the Asian Games medal program this year with its largest lineup yet: 13 game titles across 11 medal events, up from seven titles when the discipline debuted as a medal sport in 2023. The competition runs from September 23 to October 2 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, inside the wider 20th Asian Games window of September 19 to October 4, 2026.
This is only the second time esports results have counted toward the overall medal tally at the Games. It first appeared as a demonstration sport at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang edition, then became an official medal event at the Hangzhou Games, which were pushed back to 2023.
Here is what to know about the schedule, the full games list, and where Team India stands heading into the competition.
Where and When: Asian Games 2026 Esports Dates
The venue is the Aichi Sky Expo, formally the Aichi International Exhibition Center, in Tokoname city near Chubu Centrair International Airport. Twenty three nations have entered esports events at these Games, a small slice of the roughly 45 Olympic Council of Asia members competing across the wider Asian Games program.
Full List of Esports Titles at Asian Games 2026
The Olympic Council of Asia has locked in 13 titles, grouped into 11 medal events. Three fighting games share a single medal under a combined Competitive Martial Arts category.
- Street Fighter 6, Tekken 8, The King of Fighters XV (one combined medal)
- League of Legends
- Honor of Kings
- Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
- Pokemon UNITE
- PUBG Mobile (Asian Games Version)
- eFootball
- Gran Turismo 7
- Puyo Puyo Champions
- Naraka: Bladepoint
- Identity V
eFootball takes the console football slot this year in place of EA Sports FC, which featured at the 2023 Games. Konami, the publisher of eFootball, is a Japanese company, and Japan is hosting this edition.
Asian Games 2026 Esports Schedule
| Game | Dates | Entrants |
|---|---|---|
| eFootball | Sept 23 | 24 |
| Gran Turismo 7 | Sept 23 | 16 |
| Naraka: Bladepoint | Sept 23 to 24 | 8 |
| Street Fighter 6, Tekken 8, King of Fighters XV | Sept 25 to 26 | 14 |
| Puyo Puyo Champions | Sept 27 | 12 |
| Pokemon UNITE | Sept 27 | 11 |
| Honor of Kings | Sept 27 to 28 | 11 |
| PUBG Mobile | Sept 28 to 29 | 12 |
| Identity V | Sept 28 to 30 | 10 |
| Mobile Legends: Bang Bang | Oct 1 | 11 |
| League of Legends | Sept 29 to Oct 2 | 8 |
India’s 15-Member Esports Squad for Asian Games 2026
The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports cleared India’s 15-member esports contingent through a sanction order issued on August 22. The squad competes in four titles: League of Legends, Pokemon UNITE, eFootball, and Puyo Puyo Champions.
Not every National Esports Championship 2026 (NESC 2026) title winner made this final list. NESC 2026, run by the Esports Federation of India (ESFI) with registrations open from February 21 to March 7, covered ten titles feeding into eight medal events, with LAN finals held across Pune, Kochi, and New Delhi. Some national champions, including 15-year-old Gran Turismo 7 winner Abdus Salaam Mohammed, did not progress to the government-approved squad. India’s League of Legends players also had to clear a separate 14-team regional qualifier, played in a two-stage format, after winning nationals before they secured their Asian Games berth.
League of Legends
Captain Akshaj “Kat Bot” Shenoy leads a roster now competing under the S8UL Esports banner: Aakash “Infi” Shandilya, Sanindhya “Deadcorporal” Malik, Mihir “Lotus” Ranjan, Ahmed “Nero” Shahid Israr, and Rahul “Bob” Bisht. Several players return from India’s 2023 Asian Games squad. Shenoy described qualifying as “a proud moment for all of us” after the regional qualifiers wrapped up, adding that the Games will be a second Asian Games appearance for much of the roster.
Pokemon UNITE
Adnan Mohammed Badshah, from Dewas in Madhya Pradesh, captains a six-player squad completed by Reuben Godfrey Fernandes (Mira Bhayandar, Maharashtra), Sai Krishna Nalluri (Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh), Dipjyoti Laxman Nath (Thane, Maharashtra), Rudra Narayan Nayak (Bhubaneswar, Odisha), and Deepkumar Vipulbhai Patel (Ahmedabad, Gujarat). Nalluri also captains IQOO Revenant XSpark, which was linked to a reported $12 million tie-up with Global Esports earlier this year.
eFootball
Chinmay Sahoo, from Jajpur in Odisha, and Danial Shakeel Patel, from Mumbai, make up India’s two-player eFootball entry. Patel reached the semifinals of the first FIFAe World Cup featuring eFootball Mobile in December 2024, and was part of the pair that won the inaugural FIFAe Continental Championship Asia in August 2026, beating Japan in the final.
Puyo Puyo Champions
Paritosh, from Rohtak in Haryana, qualified through a lower-bracket run at NESC 2026 that included a win over 2018 Asian Games bronze medallist Tirth Mehta.
Why PUBG Mobile and Mobile Legends Are Missing From India’s List
India is not fielding a team in two of the 13 titles on the program: PUBG Mobile and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. Both trace back to Chinese-linked publishers affected by India’s 2020 ban on apps with Chinese ownership ties, and neither has returned to Indian app stores in a form eligible for national team selection. Battlegrounds Mobile India, the localised version Indian players use, is a separate build from the PUBG Mobile Asian Games Version being played at the Games.
How India Fared at the Last Asian Games
India sent a squad to the 2023 Hangzhou Games across League of Legends, DOTA 2, EA Sports FC, and Street Fighter V. The League of Legends team went furthest, reaching the quarterfinals before finishing tied for fifth. It remains India’s benchmark esports result at the Asian Games.
A Selection Dispute Is Running Alongside the Games
India’s esports campaign carries a legal question that has nothing to do with match results. The E Sports Games Federation has filed a petition in the Delhi High Court challenging ESFI’s authority to select and nominate India’s Asian Games esports athletes. The petition asks the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and the Indian Olympic Association to clarify the legal basis behind ESFI’s selection process, and leans on the National Sports Governance Act, 2025, India’s first statutory framework for recognising sports federations.
The Delhi High Court has issued a procedural order without ruling on whether ESFI’s authority holds up. Respondents have four weeks to file counter affidavits, and the matter is listed for October 1, the same week India’s esports campaign is underway in Japan. Until then, the 15 athletes named above remain India’s official Asian Games esports squad. The case adds to a year in which Indian esports has also had to adjust to new online gaming regulations, with governance questions running alongside the competitive calendar.
What’s Next
Group play across most titles begins September 23, with League of Legends running latest into October 2. India’s League of Legends team, back for a second Asian Games under the S8UL banner, along with the newly formed Pokemon UNITE and eFootball lineups, are the entries to watch from the Indian contingent through the two-week window.
