Virtual Taekwondo at Asian Games 2026 — Rules explained; Indians in action; full schedule

File Photo: Virtual taekwondo athletes compete during a competition in Kuala Lumpur. | Photo Credit: AP

Virtual Taekwondo is one of the six events making its debut at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.

The mixed-gender event will feature 16 athletes taking part in a straight knockout tournament at the Toyohashi Gymnasium on October 2.

Virtual Taekwondo schedule (October 2)

05:30: Round of 16

06:50: Quarterfinals

07:30: Semifinals (Bronze Medal Match)

08:00: Gold Medal Contest

17:05: Victory Ceremony

Timings in IST.

What is Virtual Taekwondo?

Virtual Taekwondo is the non-contact, digitised version of the regular Taekwondo, with players using VR headgears and motion-tracking devices attached to different parts of their bodies.

In this sport, players will be positioned on adjacent 4x4m mats and will take on each other in three 60-second rounds. During this time, they can use different forms of Taekwondo moves against their virtual opponent from the confines of their specified area.

The central component of a Virtual Taekwondo match is the Health Bar, which starts with 1,000 Health Points (HP) for each player in each round. As a player commits more successful hits, their opponents’ HP decreases. If the HP drops to 0, that would result in a knockout, which would translate to a round win. The player who wins at least two rounds wins the match.

If neither player pulls off a knockout, the one with a greater HP will win the round. If there is a draw on HP, the following metrics will be used, in order, as a tiebreaker—headshots, kicks, and last hit.

Indian representation

India will have a representative in the Virtual Taekwondo event at the Asian Games 2026—Kashish Malik.

The 26-year-old had previously represented India in the 2018 Asian Games, reaching the quarterfinal. Kashish had recently won a bronze medal at the Asian Taekwondo Championships in Ulaanbaatar.