India's athletics contingent faces missing the opening ceremony due to delayed kits from supplier JSW Inspire
Shot-put star Toor was replaced as flag-bearer by Sehrawat amid wider apparel and accommodation hurdles
The 20th Asian Games officially kicked off in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, running until October 4, 2026
India's athletics contingent missed the opening ceremony of the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya tonight, with the official ceremony kits apparently still to reach the athletes. The Indian Olympic Association had outsourced the kit operation to JSW Inspire, but several athletes are said to still be waiting on their gear — with some reportedly yet to even receive their playing and podium kits.
The delay has already claimed one high-profile casualty: two-time Asian Games shot-put champion Tajinderpal Singh Toor was dropped as one of India's flag-bearers after his ceremonial kit failed to reach him in time, reportedly because he could not travel from the team's training base in Tsukuba to Nagoya without it. He has been replaced by kabaddi star Pawan Sehrawat, who will now carry the flag alongside shooter Manu Bhaker.
The kit trouble hasn't been limited to track and field. India's men's cricket team has also run into sizing problems with its official kit just before its own departure for Japan, prompting repeated back-and-forth between the BCCI, the IOA and JSW Inspire — though most of those issues have reportedly since been resolved, with only a handful of players still waiting on replacements.
The confusion has been compounded by the fact that players need two separate sets of jerseys for their time in Japan — a regular India kit for a T20I against Japan before switching to the official Asian Games strip for the main competition.
Beyond apparel, the wider Indian contingent has also grappled with accommodation headaches in Nagoya: with no conventional Athletes' Village this year, participants are being housed across hotels, temporary units and even a cruise ship, and India's Chef de Mission has acknowledged a shortage of rooms that forced organisers to scramble for extra space.
Beyond that, further specifics on the athletics kit hold-up haven't been made public yet, so here's a broader look at the Games India is walking — or, for now, not quite marching — into.
The 20th Asian Games officially got underway today in Aichi and Nagoya, Japan, running from September 19 through October 4. This edition passes the torch from Hangzhou, where the 2023 Games closed with the baton handed over to Nagoya, and hockey great P.R. Sreejesh carrying India's flag at that closing ceremony. Nagoya, the capital of Japan's Aichi Prefecture on the Pacific coast of central Honshu, now hosts the continent's biggest multi-sport spectacle for the first time.
