Double Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker and two-time Asian Games gold medallist Tajinderpal Singh Toor were on Friday named India’s flagbearers for 2026 Asian Games opening ceremony. The event is set to take place on Saturday at the Paloma Mizuho Stadium in Nagoya. India has sent a contingent of 503 athletes this year to the Asian Games, up from the initial.

India has sent a contingent of 503 athletes this year to the Asian Games, up from the initial 492 with four surfers, six athletes and one Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter being the last minute additions. The contingent consists of 269 men and 234 women. Backing the competitors is a 265-member support group, which includes 246 coaches and support staff alongside 19 Indian Olympic Association contingent officials. The total remains below the record contingent sent to the Hangzhou edition three years ago, where India fielded 661 athletes (333 men and 328 women).

ASIAN GAMES 2026 FULL COVERAGE

India had won 106 medals at the last Asiad which was hosted in Hangzhou, China in 2022, by far the most the nation has won at a single edition of the Games. It was also the first time that the contingent won more than 100 medals at a single edition of the Asian Games. They won 28 gold, 38 silver and 40 bronze, all three being the most for the country at a single edition of the Asian Games.

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Toor is gunning for a third consecutive shot put gold at the Asian Games. He had won his first gold at Jakarta 2018 and then defended the title at Hangzhou 2022.

Manu, meanwhile, missed out on individual medals at the 2022 Asian Games but was part of the women’s 25m pistol team that won gold, along with Rhythm Sangwan and Esha Singh. Two years later, she made history at the 2024 Paris Olympics by winning two bronze medals – in women’s 10m air pistol and women’s 10m air pistol mixed team. Manu thus became the first Indian to win two medals in the same edition of the Olympics.