India’s Asian Games 2026 campaign moves into its first full day of competition on Sunday, September 20. The women’s cricket team will be in the spotlight. They face Bangladesh in the semi-finals at the Korogi Athletic Park in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. India are the defending champions. They reached the semis after an eight-wicket win over hosts Japan in the quarter-final. The match starts at 10:30 AM IST.
India also have medal chances in shooting, wushu, and teqball. Suraj Singh Mayanglambam will compete in the men’s changquan final in wushu. That is India’s first medal opportunity of the day. It starts at 5:30 AM IST. In teqball, Quimcy Dsouza faces Japan’s Yuina Sakamoto in the women’s singles bronze medal match at 6:30 AM IST. Dsouza and Mohamed Anas Imran Beg also play Vietnam’s Hoang Minh Tan Nguyen and Gia Nghi Trinh in the mixed doubles bronze medal match at 7:00 AM IST.
In shooting, Elavenil Valarivan, Sonam Uttam Maskar, and Vidarsa K Vinod will take part in the women’s 10m air rifle individual qualification and team final. Both start at 6:15 AM IST. The individual final is scheduled for 11:00 AM IST, subject to qualification.
The Indian hockey teams also begin their campaigns. The women’s team faces Uzbekistan in Pool B at 7:30 AM IST. The men’s team, the defending champions, take on Indonesia in Pool A at 11:30 AM IST.
In swimming, Akash Mani and Rohit Benedicton compete in the men’s 100m freestyle heats at 7:22 AM IST. Rishabh Das and Utkarsh Santosh Patil are in the men’s 100m backstroke heats at 7:37 AM IST. The finals are later in the day, subject to qualification. The 100m freestyle final is at 2:23 PM IST. The 100m backstroke final is at 2:43 PM IST.
The Indian women’s badminton team faces Kazakhstan in the round of 16 at 11:30 AM IST. In table tennis, the women’s team plays Indonesia in Group F at 6:30 AM IST. The men’s team also faces Indonesia in Group F at 9:00 AM IST. Later, the women’s team plays Singapore at 12:30 PM IST. The men’s team faces Iran at 3:00 PM IST.
In mixed martial arts, Suchika Tariyal competes in the women’s traditional -60kg quarter-final against Altanchimeg Baigalmaa of Mongolia at 8:10 AM IST. Varun Sanyal is in the men’s traditional -77kg quarter-final at 2:00 PM IST. In wushu sanda, Aparna faces Sogand Sinkaeechtan of Iran in the women’s 52kg round of 16. Vikrant Baliyan takes on Soheil Mousavi of Iran in the men’s 75kg round of 16. Both are scheduled from 2:30 PM IST onwards.
India Women Face Bangladesh in Semifinal as Medal Hopes Rise
India Women face Bangladesh in the semi-final of the Asian Games 2026 cricket tournament on Sunday. The match will be played in Nagoya. A win would put India into the gold-medal match. India are the defending champions.
India reached the semi-final by beating Japan in the quarter-final. They won by eight wickets. India bowled Japan out for just 57 runs in 19.5 overs. Sree Charani took four wickets. Shafali Verma took two. India chased the target in just five overs. Shafali scored an unbeaten 40 off 15 balls. Richa Ghosh finished on 12 not out.
Because the win was so comfortable, India tried a few different combinations. Kamalini opened with Shafali. Bharti Fulmali batted at number three. Richa was promoted to number four. Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur did not need to bat.
Bangladesh had a much easier path to the semi-final. Their quarter-final against China was washed out. Not a single ball was bowled. Bangladesh advanced because they are the higher-ranked side. They are ranked 10th in the world. China are ranked 36th.
India and Bangladesh have already met recently. In the Women’s Asia Cup 2026 semi-final earlier this month, India won by 40 runs. India scored 149 for six. Shafali made 64 off 40 balls. Bangladesh were then restricted to 109 for seven.
There is also history at the Asian Games. In 2023, India beat Bangladesh in the semi-final by eight wickets. India went on to win gold. Now they are trying to defend that title. Another win over Bangladesh would again put them in the medal rounds.
For this match, Mandhana and Harmanpreet are expected to return to the batting order. They sat out the Japan chase. Richa may also move back to her usual position. The winner will go to the gold-medal match. The losing side will get another chance to finish on the podium in the bronze-medal playoff.
The match will start at 10:30 AM IST. That is 2 PM local time. Sony Sports Network has the broadcasting rights. Live streaming will be available on Sony LIV. India and Bangladesh have played 25 matches against each other. India have won 22. Bangladesh have won 3.
FAQs
Q. When does India’s Asian Games 2026 campaign begin?
A. India’s first full day is on September 20.
Q. Who will India face in women’s cricket?
A. India will face Bangladesh in the semi-final.
Q. Who has India’s first medal chance of the day?
A. Suraj Singh Mayanglambam has India’s first medal chance.
Q. When will India’s men’s hockey team play?
A. India will face Indonesia at 11:30 AM IST.
Q. When will the women’s badminton team play?
A. India will face Kazakhstan at 11:30 AM IST.
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