Asian Games 2026 India Day 2 schedule: Cricket semifinal, hockey, and shooting headline 20th September for contingent

The campaign in Aichi-Nagoya may already be three days old, and the Games themselves were formally declared open on Saturday, but September 20 represents the first genuinely packed day for the Indian contingent. What began with a narrow programme dominated by teqball, cricket and soft tennis will suddenly spread across nine sports, with Indian athletes in action from shortly after 5 am IST until the evening.

There are medals available, campaigns beginning and a place in a cricket final at stake. Wushu and shooting provide early podium opportunities, Quimcy Dsouza has two shots at a historic teqball bronze, both Indian hockey teams begin their tournaments, while the women’s cricket team face Bangladesh in a semifinal.

It is, in many ways, the point at which India’s Asian Games move from the preliminary act to the main production. India’s competitive campaign had started as early as September 17 with teqball, two days before the opening ceremony. The programme widened slightly on September 18, when the women’s cricket team and the men’s soft tennis side joined the action, before Saturday was again relatively sparse from an Indian competitive perspective as the focus shifted towards the opening ceremony. Sunday changes the rhythm completely.

Medals arrive early as India’s campaign gathers pace

The day begins at 5:10 am with Suchika Tariyal facing Mongolia’s Altanchimeg Baigalmaa in the women’s Traditional 60kg mixed martial arts quarterfinal. Barely 20 minutes later, Suraj Singh Mayanglambam will contest the men’s Changquan final in wushu, giving India an early opportunity to enter the medal conversation.

Shooting follows at 6:15 am, with Elavenil Valarivan, Sonam Maskar and Vidarsa Vinod contesting the women’s 10m air rifle qualification and team final. The individual final follows at 11 am for those who qualify, making the event one of India’s most significant medal opportunities during the opening half of the day.

But some of Sunday’s most intriguing possibilities lie in a sport that did not exist on the Asian Games programme until this edition. Quimcy Dsouza enters the morning with two chances to finish on the podium in teqball. The 24-year-old narrowly missed the women’s singles final after losing a three-set semifinal to Indonesia’s Ima Sumaya on Saturday, despite winning the opening set. She now faces Japan’s Yuina Sakamoto at 6:30 am in the bronze-medal match.

Dsouza will have little time to recover. Half an hour later, she joins Mohamed Anas Beg for the mixed doubles bronze contest against Vietnam’s Hoang Minh Tan Nguyen and Gia Nghi Trinh. The Indian pair have already faced the Vietnamese combination, losing their quarterfinal before defeating the Philippines in straight sets in the repechage to earn another opportunity at a medal. India’s major team sports also begin to crowd the programme. The women’s hockey team open their Pool B campaign against Uzbekistan at 7:30 am, while the men begin against Indonesia four hours later. Badminton enters the Asian Games picture too, with India’s women facing Kazakhstan in the team first round at 11:30 am.

Table tennis will stretch almost throughout the day. The Indian women begin against Indonesia at 6:30 am and return to face Singapore at 12:30 pm, while the men take on Indonesia at 9 am before meeting Iran at 3 pm. Swimming adds another dimension to the morning programme, with Akash Mani competing in the men’s 100m freestyle heats and Utkarsh Patil and Rishabh Das featuring in the 100m backstroke.

Also Read: Fractured ceramics to recycled tech: How 2026 Asian Games medals were made

Defending champions India face Bangladesh for place in cricket final

The most consequential team fixture of the day arrives at 10:30 am, when India face Bangladesh in the women’s cricket semifinal. India entered the tournament as defending Asian Games champions and made an emphatic start against hosts Japan in Friday’s quarterfinal. After dismissing Japan for just 57, with Sree Charani claiming four wickets, India required only five overs to complete an eight-wicket victory. Shafali Verma hammered an unbeaten 40 from 15 balls to turn what could have been a cautious chase into a procession.

Bangladesh now stand between India and another Asian Games final. The programme continues deep into the afternoon. Aparna faces Iran’s Sogand Sinkaeichetan in the women’s 52kg Sanda Round of 16 at 3:10 pm before Vikrant Baliyan meets Soheil Mousavi, also of Iran, in the men’s 75kg category at 4:50 pm.

After three days in which India’s participation arrived in relatively small doses, Sunday therefore offers something much closer to the familiar Asian Games experience: simultaneous arenas, rapid transitions between sports and medal possibilities scattered across the day.

India at Asian Games, September 20: Schedule in IST

5:10 am: Mixed Martial Arts – Suchika Tariyal vs Altanchimeg Baigalmaa (Mongolia), Women’s Traditional 60kg Quarterfinal

5:30 am: Wushu – Suraj Singh Mayanglambam, Men’s Changquan Final

6:15 am: Shooting – Elavenil Valarivan, Sonam Maskar, Vidarsa Vinod, Women’s 10m Air Rifle Individual Qualifying and Team Final

6:30 am: Teqball – Quimcy Dsouza vs Yuina Sakamoto (Japan), Women’s Singles Bronze Medal match

6:30 am: Table Tennis – India vs Indonesia, Women’s Team Group F

7:00 am: Teqball – Quimcy Dsouza/Mohamed Anas Beg vs Hoang Minh Tan Nguyen/Gia Nghi Trinh (Vietnam), Mixed Doubles Bronze Medal match

7:22 am: Swimming – Akash Mani, Men’s 100m Freestyle Heat 5

7:30 am: Hockey – India vs Uzbekistan, Women’s Pool B

7:37 am: Swimming – Utkarsh Patil and Rishabh Das, Men’s 100m Backstroke Heat 3

9:00 am: Table Tennis – India vs Indonesia, Men’s Team Group F

10:30 am: Cricket – India vs Bangladesh, Women’s Semifinal

11:00 am: Shooting – Elavenil Valarivan, Sonam Maskar, Vidarsa Vinod, Women’s 10m Air Rifle Individual Final, subject to qualification

11:00 am: Mixed Martial Arts – Varun Sanyal vs TBC, Men’s Traditional 77kg Quarterfinal

11:30 am: Hockey – India vs Indonesia, Men’s Pool A

11:30 am: Badminton – India vs Kazakhstan, Women’s Team first round

12:30 pm: Table Tennis – India vs Singapore, Women’s Team Group F

3:00 pm: Table Tennis – India vs Iran, Men’s Team Group F

3:10 pm: Wushu – Aparna vs Sogand Sinkaeichetan (Iran), Women’s 52kg Sanda Round of 16

4:50 pm: Wushu – Vikrant Baliyan vs Soheil Mousavi (Iran), Men’s 75kg Sanda Round of 16