India’s Men’s Kabaddi Road to Asian Games 2026: Schedule, Opponents and Lessons from Hangzhou
India’s men’s kabaddi team will begin its Asian Games 2026 campaign in Nagoya with four preliminary-round matches, facing Japan, Korea, Bangladesh and Chinese Taipei between September 21 and 24.
The schedule gives India an opportunity to build momentum before the knockout stages, with all four matches scheduled in the morning. India enters the competition as the defending Asian Games champion after winning gold at Hangzhou 2022, where it completed a dominant campaign with six victories from six matches. The Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India’s selection policy also highlights India’s long-standing dominance at the Asian Games and its objective of sustaining its medal-winning record in Nagoya. (Indian Kabaddi)
The challenge in 2026, however, will be to translate that history into another consistent tournament performance against an evolving Asian field.
India’s Men’s Kabaddi Schedule at Asian Games 2026
India will open its campaign on September 21, taking on Japan in the morning. The second match follows on September 22, when India faces Korea, before the team meets Bangladesh on September 23. The preliminary round concludes on September 24 against Chinese Taipei. The sequence could be important. Japan and Korea will provide early tests before India faces Bangladesh, while the Chinese Taipei match could become significant in determining the final standings and momentum heading into the knockout phase.
September 21: Japan vs India — Morning
September 22: Korea vs India — Morning
September 23: Bangladesh vs India — Morning
September 24: Chinese Taipei vs India — Morning
With India expected to target a strong position in the preliminary round, the objective will be to avoid unnecessary pressure before the knockout stages.
What happened the last time India faced these teams at the Asian Games?
The provided Hangzhou 2022 tournament results show just how dominant India was against several of its upcoming opponents. India opened its campaign against Bangladesh, producing a commanding 55-18 victory. The performance immediately established India's attacking and defensive superiority and gave the team an ideal start to its gold-medal campaign.
The next major test came against Chinese Taipei, where India again produced an emphatic result, winning 50-27. The 23-point margin demonstrated India's ability to control the contest against an opponent that had also shown competitive strength during the tournament. India then defeated Japan 56-30, another high-scoring performance that underlined the gap between the reigning champions and one of their preliminary-round opponents.
The fourth result involving one of India's 2026 opponents came against Bangladesh, which India had already beaten earlier in the tournament. The Hangzhou campaign ultimately ended with India unbeaten. The knockout stage was even more convincing. India defeated Pakistan 61-14 in the semifinal before edging past Iran 33-29 in the gold-medal match to retain the Asian Games title.
Overall, India finished the 2022 men's kabaddi tournament with a perfect 6-0 record, winning gold after an unbeaten run.
The opening match against Japan should immediately test India's ability to establish control. Japan has historically been one of the teams attempting to close the gap with the leading Asian kabaddi nations. India's 56-30 victory in Hangzhou provides a strong recent benchmark, but four years is a significant period in international sport. Japan will enter Nagoya with a different squad and potentially a different tactical approach.
Bangladesh is another opponent India knows well. The 55-18 victory in Hangzhou demonstrated India's superiority, but Bangladesh remains a team capable of producing competitive spells and will look to make the most of its physical style. For India, the key will be maintaining intensity even against opponents it may be expected to defeat comfortably.
Chinese Taipei could be a significant test.
The final preliminary-round match against Chinese Taipei could be particularly interesting. Chinese Taipei finished second in India's group at Hangzhou 2022, winning three of four preliminary-round matches before losing 50-27 to India. Their overall performance showed that they were among the stronger teams in the group.
They also went on to reach the knockout stage, making the final group match a potentially meaningful contest for India. The Indian team will therefore need to avoid treating the fixture as routine. Chinese Taipei's ability to stay competitive and challenge opponents makes them one of the more credible threats in India's preliminary group.
Korea completes India's four-match preliminary schedule. The provided 2022 results do not include an India-Korea men's match, so there is no directly comparable scoreline from the supplied Hangzhou tournament data. Korea, however, remains an established kabaddi nation and will provide India with a different tactical challenge.
The match on September 22 comes early enough in the competition to test India's ability to adapt quickly between games.
From Hangzhou dominance to Nagoya expectations
India's record at Hangzhou sets an exceptionally high standard. The team won all six matches, scored heavily during the preliminary stage and then handled the pressure of knockout kabaddi against Pakistan and Iran. India eventually defeated Iran 33-29 in a much tighter final, showing that even a dominant tournament can culminate in a fiercely contested match.
The 2026 campaign will therefore not simply be about winning matches. India will be expected to manage pressure, maintain consistency and peak when the knockout rounds arrive. The four preliminary matches against Japan, Korea, Bangladesh and Chinese Taipei provide the platform.
India's recent Asian Games history suggests it has the quality to dominate the group. But with the tournament moving into a new edition and a new generation of players emerging across Asia, the real challenge will be reproducing Hangzhou's consistency when the stakes rise.
For the defending champions, the road to another Asian Games gold begins on September 21 against Japan with four preliminary-round tests standing between India and the knockout stage.
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