Asian Games 2026

Upcoming

Nagoya, Japan • 19 Sept 2026 — 4 Oct 2026

3x3 Basketball

Basketball

Archery

Artistic Gymnastics

Gymnastics

Artistic Swimming

Aquatics

Athletics

BMX Racing

Cycling

Badminton

Baseball

Baseball/Softball

Basketball

Beach Volleyball

Volleyball

Boxing

Breaking

Canoe Slalom

Canoeing

Canoe Sprint

Canoeing

Cricket

Full tournament coverage

Diving

Aquatics

Dressage

Equestrian

Esports

Eventing

Equestrian

Fencing

Field Hockey

Football

Freestyle BMX

Cycling

Golf

Handball

Ju-jitsu

Combat Sports

Judo

Jumping

Equestrian

Kabaddi

Karate

Kurash

Combat Sports

Mixed Martial Arts

Combat Sports

Modern Pentathlon

Mountain Bike

Cycling

Padel

Rhythmic Gymnastics

Gymnastics

Road Cycling

Cycling

Rowing

Rugby Sevens

Sailing

Sepak Takraw

Shooting

Skateboarding

Soft Tennis

Tennis

Softball

Baseball/Softball

Sport Climbing

Squash

Surfing

Swimming

Aquatics

Table Tennis

Taekwondo

Tennis

Teqball

Track Cycling

Cycling

Trampoline Gymnastics

Gymnastics

Triathlon

Virtual Taekwondo

Taekwondo

Volleyball

Water Polo

Aquatics

Weightlifting

Wrestling

Wushu

Overview

The Asian Games trace back to two earlier regional competitions: the Far Eastern Championship Games (1913-1934), organised by the Philippines, China and Japan, which ran ten times before collapsing amid the Second Sino-Japanese War; and the 1934 Western Asiatic Games in New Delhi, a single edition organised by Indian IOC member Guru Dutt Sondhi and involving India, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Mandatory Palestine. At the 1948 London Olympics, Sondhi proposed a unified continental games to help build unity across a newly post-colonial Asia. Talks continued into early 1949, and by that February seven Asian nations - India, the Philippines, Nepal, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Burma and Ceylon - had agreed on New Delhi as host and set up a governing charter under the newly created Asian Games Federation.

The first Asian Games followed in March 1951, with 489 athletes from 11 nations competing in six sports; Japan topped the medal table. The Federation governed the first eight editions through 1978. Following governance disputes and political conflicts over regional invitations, it was dissolved and replaced in November 1981 by the Olympic Council of Asia, which has run the Games ever since from its Kuwait City headquarters.

At the OCA's first Games in New Delhi in 1982, China topped the medal table for the first time, ending Japan's three-decade run at the top, and has finished first at every edition since. The 1994 Hiroshima Games marked the debut of five newly independent Central Asian nations following the collapse of the Soviet Union, and was the first edition held outside a host country's capital. From the 1990s onward, the OCA added sports rooted in Asian sporting culture alongside Olympic disciplines, including kabaddi, sepak takraw, wushu, squash and dragon boat racing.

More recently, esports and breaking appeared as demonstration or medal events, becoming official medal sports at Hangzhou 2022 (postponed to 2023 due to COVID-19), reflecting the Games' continued evolution toward modern youth-oriented disciplines.

Facts

First edition: New Delhi 1951 - 489 athletes, 11 nations, 6 sports

Governing body changed in 1982: Asian Games Federation replaced by the Olympic Council of Asia, headquartered in Kuwait City

China has topped the overall medal table at every edition since 1982, ending Japan's earlier dominance

Kabaddi, Sepak Takraw and Wushu were added as medal sports in 1990 to reflect Asian sporting traditions

Esports and Breaking became official medal events at Hangzhou 2022 (held in 2023)

Hangzhou 2022 was the largest edition yet: 45 NOCs, 11,909 athletes, 481 events

Japan led the medal table at every edition from 1951 through 1978

India, the inaugural host, remains a consistent top-3 South Asian nation in athletics, wrestling, shooting and kabaddi

Only 7 nations have competed at every single edition: India, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Thailand

Israel competed from 1954 to 1974 before being excluded from the Games for political reasons

Milestones

1951
Inaugural Asian Games
Held March 4-11, 1951 at the National Stadium, New Delhi. 489 athletes from 11 National Olympic Committees competed in 6 sports (Athletics, Aquatics, Basketball, Cycling, Football and Weightlifting). Japan topped the medal tally.
1958
First Torch Relay
The Tokyo Games introduced the first official Asian Games torch relay, formalising a tradition carried forward at every subsequent edition.
1954-1978
Formalization and Growth
Participation grew steadily through the Asian Games Federation era: Manila 1954 hosted 18 nations, and by 1978 the Games had grown to 3,842 athletes from 25 NOCs.
1981-1982
Formation of the Olympic Council of Asia
Governance disputes and political conflicts over regional invitations led to the dissolution of the Asian Games Federation. The Olympic Council of Asia was formed in November 1981, headquartered in Kuwait City, and formally began supervising the Games from the 1986 Seoul edition onward.
1982-Present
China's Medal-Table Dominance Begins
At New Delhi 1982, the first Games organised under the OCA, China topped the overall medal table for the first time, ending Japan's 30-year dominance. China has remained the top-performing nation at every edition since.
1994
Central Asian Nations Join
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, five newly independent Central Asian nations - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan - made their Asian Games debut, vastly expanding the event's footprint. It was also the first edition held outside a host country's capital city.
1990s-1998
Indigenous and Non-Olympic Sports Added
The OCA introduced sports rooted in Asian sporting culture alongside Olympic disciplines, including Kabaddi (1990), Sepak Takraw (1990), Wushu (1990) and Squash (1998).
2018-2022
Modern Era: Esports and Breaking
Esports appeared as a demonstration event at Jakarta-Palembang 2018 and, together with Breaking, became an official medal sport at Hangzhou 2022 (postponed and held in 2023), reflecting modern youth sporting trends.

Editions

ED.	Host	Year	NOCs	Athletes	Sports	Events	Most Medals
1	New Delhi India	1951	11	489	6	57	Japan
2	Manila Philippines	1954	18	970	8	76	Japan
3	Tokyo Japan	1958	20	1,820	13	97	Japan
4	Jakarta Indonesia	1962	12	1,460	13	88	Japan
5	Bangkok Thailand	1966	18	1,945	14	143	Japan
6	Bangkok Thailand	1970	18	2,400	13	135	Japan
7	Tehran Iran	1974	25	3,010	16	202	Japan
8	Bangkok Thailand	1978	25	3,842	19	147	Japan
9	New Delhi India	1982	33	3,411	21	147	China
10	Seoul South Korea	1986	27	4,839	25	296	China
11	Beijing China	1990	36	6,122	27	310	China
12	Hiroshima Japan	1994	42	6,828	34	337	China
13	Bangkok Thailand	1998	41	6,544	36	376	China
14	Busan South Korea	2002	44	7,711	38	419	China
15	Doha Qatar	2006	45	9,520	39	424	China
16	Guangzhou China	2010	45	9,704	42	476	China
17	Incheon South Korea	2014	45	9,501	37	439	China
18	Jakarta-Palembang Indonesia	2018	45	11,300	40	465	China
19	Hangzhou China	2022	45	11,909	40	481	China
20	Aichi-Nagoya Japan	2026	—	—	43	—	—

ED.Host

All-Time Medal Leaders

ChinaAll-time leader with over 1,600 golds and 3,500+ total medals; has topped the table at every edition since 1982.

JapanTopped every medal table from 1951 through 1978; holds over 1,000 all-time golds and remains the second-most successful nation overall.

South KoreaConsistently ranks third overall since the mid-1970s, with close to 800 all-time golds.

IndiaThe inaugural host in 1951; became only the fourth nation in Games history to cross 100 medals in a single edition, at Hangzhou 2022.