Cricket, MMA Confirmed For Asian Games 2026 In Japan

Cricket has been confirmed for the 2026 version of the Asian Games to be held in Japan subsequent 12 months in September-October, the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) introduced on Tuesday. A press be aware on OCA’s official web site stated that cricket and Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) are set to be included within the competitors. “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 press be aware stated.

“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,” it added.

Cricket has been part of Asian Games for 2010, 2014 and 2022 editions. It grew to become a medal sport in 2010, with Bangladesh getting the gold and Afghanistan bringing the silver in males’s motion. Pakistan bought the bronze medal. During the 2014 version in Incheon, Sri Lanka captured the gold, Afghanistan bought silver whereas Bangladesh took residence the bronze. Pakistan gained the gold medal in ladies’s cricket within the ladies’s cricket competitors throughout each video games.

The 2022 version of the competitors noticed India taking part and successful the gold medal, that includes T20 stars like Ruturaj Gaikwad, Rinku Singh, Tilak Varma and Yashasvi Jaiswal amongst others in males’s cricket. Afghanistan as soon as once more bought the silver whereas Bangladesh took residence silver. India additionally took residence the gold within the ladies’s competitors, with Sri Lanka getting silver and Bangladesh getting bronze.