2026 Asian Games: Hong Kong, Macao and China readying squads for Nagoya

The 20th Asian Games opens on 19 September in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, running through 4 October with up to 15,000 athletes and team officials expected from 45 countries and regions competing across 43 sports, according to the organising committee.

Hong Kong, Macao and mainland China are all sending delegations, with Hong Kong’s squad notably smaller than its last outing.

How many athletes is Hong Kong sending?

Hong Kong will send about 580 athletes to compete in 38 sports, part of a wider delegation of more than 800 including officials and support staff. That’s down from 681 athletes at the 2023 Hangzhou Games, a drop of about 101, partly because some sports where Hong Kong won medals last time aren’t on its roster this year. Hong Kong won a record 53 medals in Hangzhou, eight gold, 16 silver and 29 bronze, and chef de mission Wong Po-kee said the delegation hopes for broadly comparable results in Nagoya.

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Chief Executive John Lee presented the delegation its flag at a ceremony in Sha Tin on Tuesday, telling athletes to carry forward the “fighting spirit” shown at last year’s National Games. Hong Kong Sports Institute funding has grown more than 30 percent over the past five years, Lee added.

How many athletes is Macao sending?

Macao will send 85 athletes to compete in 15 sports, according to acting Sports Bureau president Lei Si Leng.

What about mainland China?

Mainland China hasn’t published one single total athlete count, but is fielding full-strength squads in several headline sports. Its table tennis team includes Sun Yingsha, Wang Chuqin, Wang Manyu and Lin Shidong, while athletics alone will send 72 athletes and men’s and women’s basketball 14 each. 

A handful of players based in the NBA and WNBA, including Yang Hansen, Han Xu and Li Yueru, were left off the roster, mainly to prepare for their overseas club seasons, though other overseas-based players, including one competing in US college basketball, remain on the squad.

What else is different about this year’s Games?

Organisers are housing competitors across a cruise ship, temporary container housing and hotels rather than a single athletes’ village, a setup they say adds pressure given how spread out this year’s venues are.

Registrations across all delegations reached about 17,000, above the roughly 15,000 originally expected. New sports debuting this year include freestyle BMX, mixed martial arts, padel, surfing, teqball and virtual taekwondo.