MMA set to make Asian Games debut in 2026; Cricket retained, confirms Olympic Council of Asia

The Asian Games 2026 are scheduled to be held in Japan's Aichi and Nagoya prefectures from September 19 to October 4, with around 15,000 athletes expected to compete.

L-R: Gold medallist India at the Asian Games in Hangzhou and MMA fighter Ritu Phogat. (Photo: PTI/FILE)

The Olympic Council of Asia confirmed on Tuesday that cricket has been retained for the upcoming Asian Games 2026, while Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is set to make its debut at the quadrennial showpiece. The Asian Games 2026 are scheduled to be held in Japan’s Aichi and Nagoya prefectures from September 19 to October 4, with around 15,000 athletes expected to compete.

“The latest development in the compilation of the sports programme came at the 41st meeting of the AINAGOC Board of Directors at Nagoya City Hall on Monday, April 28, when cricket and Mixed Martial Arts were both formally approved,” the OCA said.

The OCA confirmed that MMA will feature six medal events in its Asian Games debut and be classed as a discipline under Combat Sports, along with kurash and jujitsu.

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MMA is an ever-growing segment in India, with two fighters — Anshul Jubli and Pooja Tomar — making their way to the cash-rich Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), opening doors for many aspiring fighters.

Cricket, meanwhile, will make its fourth appearance in the Asian Games. Having made its debut as a medal event in the Asian Games at Guangzhou 2010 and returned at Incheon 2014, although the matches were not accorded international status.

After Incheon 2014, cricket returned to the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou after being dropped from the programme at Jakarta 2018, but this time all matches were granted international status by the International Cricket Council (ICC) — the global governing body for cricket. Cricket at the Asian Games in all three previous editions featured separate tournaments for men and women, with both played in the T20 format.

India clinched gold medals in both men’s and women’s categories at Hangzhou 2023. Afghanistan and Sri Lanka won the silver in the men’s and women’s events, respectively, while Bangladesh claimed bronze in both categories.

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The matches at the 2026 Asian Games will be held in Aichi, however, the exact venues have not been decided yet.

The sport of cricket is also set to return to the Olympic fold at LA 2028 after more than a century. The sport’s solitary appearance on the Summer Games stage was at Paris 1900, with Great Britain beating France in a Test match to win the gold medal.