Cricket has been retained for the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026 to be held in Japan from September 19 to October 4. The decision was taken by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) at the 41st meeting of the AINAGOC Board of Directors on Monday (April 28). At the same time, Martial Arts was also approved to be included in the Asian Games next year.
"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 in its statement.
Cricket will appear at the Games for the fourth time. It first featured at the Asian Games 2010 in Guangzhou and then in Incheon 2014. But then the games were not granted an international status. However, when the sport returned to the Asian Games in Hangzhou in 2023, the matches were deemed T20 internationals.
India won the gold medal in the men's and women's categories, while Bangladesh won the bronze medal in both categories. Afghanistan and Sri Lanka took away silver in the men's and women's categories, respectively. Apart from them, Pakistan, Nepal, Maldives, Mongolia, Hong Kong, Japan, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia participated across the two categories.
Meanwhile, Aichi prefecture will host all the cricket matches, but the exact location is not yet finalised. The matches will be played in the T20 format, like it was done the last time around. Meanwhile, cricket's inclusion at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028 has also garnered interest around the sport worldwide.
"The venue for cricket will be in Aichi prefecture but the exact location has not been decided. Interest will be high, not only because of cricket's popularity in South Asia in particular but also because the T20 (20 overs per side) format will be included in the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028. This will be cricket's first appearance in the Olympics since 1900 in Paris, where Great Britain beat France by 158 runs in the final of the two-team tournament," the OCA statement further added.