Asian Games 2026: 15 Indian Esports Athletes Revealed

India's esports contingent for the 2026 Asian Games is set, with 15 athletes approved to represent the country across eFootball, Pokémon UNITE, League of Legends, and Puyo Puyo Champions. The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS) approved the athletes on Aug 22, 2026, marking another step in the inclusion of competitive gaming within India's broader sporting ecosystem.

The 20th Asian Games will take place in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, from Sep 19 to Oct 4, 2026. Esports will be held from Sept 23 to Oct 2, with 11 medal events scheduled across titles including Pokémon UNITE, League of Legends, Gran Turismo 7, eFootball, and Puyo Puyo Champions.

Who are India's 15 Esports Athletes at the Asian Games 2026?

India's 15 athletes are divided across four titles:

• League of Legends: Rahul Bisht, Ahmed Shahid Israr, Mihir Ranjan, Sanindhya Malik, Aakash Shandilya, and captain Akshaj Shenoy.
• Pokémon UNITE: Sai Krishna Nalluri, Captain Adnan Mohammed Badshah, Reuben Godfrey Fernandes, Rudra Narayan Nayak, Dipjyoti Laxman Nath, and Deepkumar Vipulbhai Patel.
• Puyo Puyo Champions: Paritosh.
• eFootball: Chinmay Sahoo and Danial Shakeel Patel.

The players come from locations across India, including Delhi, Odisha, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Haryana.

India's esports athletes reached the Asian Games through the national competitive pathway, including the National Esports Championships and subsequent qualification process. The League of Legends roster secured its place after competing in the Asian Games qualifiers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

What India's Asian Games Esports Entry Means

For Indian esports, participation in the Asian Games places its athletes within the country's wider national sporting campaign, alongside competitors from established disciplines such as cricket, badminton, and hockey. It also gives competitive gaming another opportunity to demonstrate its place within a structured sporting ecosystem.

Esports involves more than players.

Teams, coaches, broadcasters, tournament operators, performance analysts, creators, brands, and other businesses are part of the wider esports ecosystem. The Asian Games also provide an opportunity to show schools, colleges, parents, and wider audiences how these roles contribute to competitive gaming.

The Esports Federation of India (ESFI) thanked the MYAS, the Indian Olympic Association, and the Sports Authority of India for supporting India's esports athletes.

The federation has also expressed an interest in seeing more esports titles and disciplines become part of India's wider sporting ecosystem. Recognition, however, represents only one stage of that process. Building greater understanding of esports as a career, sport, and business remains an important part of developing the sector in India.