OCA expands Esports programme for 2026 Asian Games, boosting India's medal hopes

India's potential for enhanced Esports representation at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games has strengthened following the Olympic Council of Asia's (OCA) announcement of an expanded roster featuring 11 Esports disciplines.
The OCA Executive Board has approved ten new titles as medal events for the 2026 Games, including Street Fighter 6, Pokemon Unite, Honor of Kings, League of Legends – Asian Games Version, PUBG – Asian Games Version, Mobile Legends – Bang Bang, Naraka: Bladepoint, Gran Turismo 7, eFootball Series, and Puyo Puyo Champions.
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Lokesh Suji, director of Esports Federation of India (ESFI) and vice president of the Asian Esports Federation (AESF), expressed enthusiasm, stating, "the OCA’s decision to expand the Esports program to 11 titles is a tremendous boost for India. Not only does this increase our chances of winning a medal at Aichi-Nagoya 2026, but it also paves the way for greater awareness and participation in new titles among our youth."
"The addition of new titles at the 2026 Asian Games will attract fresh talent and create more opportunities for Indian gamers to compete at the highest level. It’s a fantastic and a positive step for esports in general to create a lot more competitive opportunities in the region ," Suji added.
This expansion represents significant progress from the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, which introduced esports as an official medal sport with seven titles. India's participation was limited to four disciplines—DOTA 2, FIFA Online 4, Street Fighter V, and League of Legends—as other games were prohibited within the country.
With six fresh titles added to the mix and two from 2022 dropped, India’s esports contingent is set to grow, despite PUBG and Mobile Legends – Bang Bang still being banned.
This development creates a significant opportunity for India's gaming community to showcase their skills and compete for medals at international events.
In India, Esports has established itself as a serious competitive discipline, with ESFI actively identifying and developing new talent through various domestic competitions and qualifying events in recent years.
India's recent achievements include a silver medal in Tekken 8 at the BRICS Esports Championship and a bronze medal in eFootball at the Asian Esports Games 2024.
The inclusion of the sport in the 3rd Asian Youth Games in Bahrain (2025) and the first-ever Olympic Esports Games, jointly organised by the IOC and Saudi Arabia's National Olympic Committee this year, demonstrates its increasing prominence in regional competitions.