Gujarat has achieved a major milestone in Indian sports, with a record nine athletes and one reserve player selected in the Indian contingent for the 20th Asian Games, scheduled to be held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, from September 19 to October 4, 2026.
The state’s representation surpasses its previous best at the 2014 Asian Games, reflecting Gujarat’s growing presence on the international sporting stage.
The selected athletes represent a mix of experienced campaigners and emerging talent across multiple disciplines:
Shooting: Elavenil Valarivan
Table Tennis: Harmeet Desai, Manav Thakkar and Manush Shah
Tennis: Ankita Raina and Vaidehi Chaudhary (Jill Desai named reserve)
Soft Tennis: Aniket Patel
Swimming: Aryan Nehra
Athletics (Sprint): Devyani Jhala
The achievement is being credited to Gujarat’s sustained investment in sports development over the past decade. Through grassroots talent identification, improved training facilities and better support systems, the state has steadily increased its presence in international events such as the Olympics, Commonwealth Games and Asian Games.
The selected athletes will now aim to deliver strong performances and bring home medals for India at the Asian Games in Japan later this year.