Indian women’s cricket team begins Asian Games 2026 title defence against Japan

India commenced its campaign at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026 on September 18 with competitions across cricket, soft tennis, and teqball.

The day started with the Indian men’s soft tennis team competing against Laos in Group C, followed by matches against Chinese Taipei and Mongolia. Indian athletes also took part in women’s singles and mixed doubles teqball events throughout the morning and afternoon.

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The primary focus was the Indian women’s cricket quarter-final against hosts Japan. Led by captain Harmanpreet Kaur, the defending Asian Games champions began their gold-medal defence in a straight knockout match at Korogi Athletic Park.

India entered the Asian Games following a record-extending eighth Asia Cup title, having defeated Sri Lanka in the final the previous week. Japan appeared in the Asian Games cricket competition for the third time.

Ranked third in the Women’s T20 International standings, India is the highest-ranked side in the eight-team women’s competition and a leading contender for the title. Their match against Japan was the first-ever encounter between the two teams.

Japan faced a challenging contest against the strong Indian squad. Ranked 39th in women’s T20I rankings, Japan made their third appearance in Asian Games cricket. Their best finish was a bronze medal in 2010. This year’s tournament adopted a straight knockout format, allowing little margin for error.