Dramatic Day One as 2026 Asian Games Teams Action Gets Underway in Japan

The opening day of the 2026 Asian Games Teams event got off to a flying start in Nagoya, Japan, as nations began their quest for gold.

With the string order set at 3-1-2, it was India's Women's Team that stole the show on at the Nagoya Kinjo-Futo Arena, winning two intense matches against China and Japan to move to the top of Pool C.

Despite India securing back-to-back victories, they were immediately put on the back foot as China's 14-year-old rising star Ziyuan Yin came back from 2/0 down to defeat India's Shameena Riaz, winning 14-12 in a tense fifth game.

However, despite the incredible comeback, India responded through No.1 string Tanvi Khanna, who produced a disciplined performance to beat China's Yuning Zhang 11-3, 11-5, 11-5 in 17 minutes and force a deciding match.

With everything still to play for, No.2 string Joshna Chinappa - a 40-year-old veteran of every Asian Games since 2002 - secured India's first win of the 2026 Asian Games, defeating Ziyi Liu in straight games after a closely fought opener.

In the afternoon, India then faced Japan, with both teams aiming to move one step closer to the quarter-finals, as Japan had picked up a straight-game victory over Iran earlier in the day.

And it was India who struck first, as Chinappa maintained her form to beat Erisa Sano in straight games, winning 11-1, 11-8, 11-9.

With the first match claimed, all the focus turned to the No.1 string tie, which was a rematch of the Singles semi-final between India's Anahat Singh and Japan's world No.6 Satomi Watanabe.

Meeting just two days after that five-game clash - in which Singh recorded a shock upset - Watanabe once again made the stronger start, claiming the opener 11-8 before Singh responded to level the match, winning 11-8.

Singh then moved into a 2/1 lead after taking the third 11-7, but this was not without a response from Watanabe, who fought back to claim the fourth 11-8 and force another dramatic fifth game.

With the players tied at 8-8, Watanabe held her nerve in front of the home crowd to secure an 11-9 revenge victory and force a deciding match between No.2 strings Tanvi Khanna and Akari Midorikawa.

Khanna then delivered under pressure, coming from 9-4 down in the fourth game to beat Midorikawa 12-10, 11-9, 4-11, 12-10 and seal India's place in the quarter-finals.

Celebrating two wins today, Chinappa said: "We are so relieved today, going into the decider, it is always nerve-wracking.

"We are very fortunate that Tanvi was able to close it out, especially being 9-4 down in the fourth, so thanks to her for that win today."

Khanna added: "At 9-4 when I won one point, I felt the momentum shift and I knew that I would be able to capitalise and win the match today."

Meanwhile, in the Men's Team event, Hong Kong secured back-to-back victories over Mongolia and Japan, with their win over the home team providing one of the biggest talking points of the day.

The tie got off to a dramatic start, as Japan's Naoki Hayashi and Hong Kong's Matthew Lai battled for 73 minutes, with the opening game seeing the duo share 30 points before Hayashi edged it 16-14.

Despite the enormous roars from the home crowd, the momentum then shifted in favour of Lai, who fought back to claim the next two games 13-11, 11-8 and move within one game of victory.

With the pressure mounting on the No.3 string, Hayashi produced an impressive comeback, much to the approval of the home crowd, winning the next two games 11-8, 11-7 to complete a thrilling comeback.

However, Japan's lead did not last long, as Hong Kong's No.1 string Alex Lau dampened the home crowd's spirit with a 3/1 victory over Ryunosuke Tsukue.

With the scores level, the tie came down to a deciding match between Hong Kong's Henry Leung and Japan's Tomotaka Endo, which proved to be another action-packed contest, with Leung claiming the opener 15-13.

With the opening game secured, Leung was able to build on his lead quickly, winning the second 11-6 before wrapping up the tie in the third game to seal the overall win for Hong Kong.

"It feels good to start with an exciting battle, the experience of these matches will go a long way, as playing in front of a home crowd and dealing with the pressure is always so tough," Leung said after the match.

"We all believe in each other, and we handled the pressure well across all the matches, but it's brutal, so we are happy that we got the win together," added Lau.

Elsewhere, in the Women's draw, defending champions Malaysia kicked off their campaign for the gold medal, as Rachel Arnold and sisters Aira and Aifa Azman secured straight-game victories over Macau's Chi Cheng Cao, Kwai Chi Liu and Wai Leng Yeung.

Following the opening tie victory, Rachel Arnold said: "It was a good start for us today, I think today was all about staying focused and making sure we were prepared."

Aira Azman continued: "The singles and mixed doubles events are behind us now, we are so focused to represent Malaysia in the team event, we know we are coming in as the champions this time, but we are just trying to enjoy our squash one game at a time."

Malaysia's Women's Team will return tomorrow to face Singapore as they hope to confirm their place at the top of Pool A, with both teams having secured wins over Macau.

The defending Men's champions, India also made a strong start to their campaign as they look to become the first Men's Team to win back-to-back titles.

Facing China in Pool A, No.3 string Suraj Chand opened the tie with a 3/0 victory over Shaoqian Du, recovering from a tight third game to win 12-10.

Veer Chotrani then defeated Haizhen Li in straight games before Velavan Senthilkumar sealed the 3/0 victory with a straight-game win over Penglin Zhou.

India then faced the Republic of Korea in the afternoon session, with Senthilkumar opening the tie with a straight-game victory over Na Jooyoung.

No.1 string Abhay Singh followed and returned to winning ways after his finals defeat in the Singles event, with a straight-game win over Ryu Jeongmin, before Chotrani completed the 3/0 victory with an 11-6, 11-4, 11-2 win over Oh Seojin.