Team India will start its Asian Games 2026 campaign today, September 17, with Teqball. While the opening ceremony of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games is scheduled for September 19, some sports have already started before the official opening of the Games.
For India, the first action will come in the Men’s Doubles Teqball event, where Declan Marshall Gonsalves and Mohamed Anas Imran Beg will represent the country.
The Indian pair will play two group-stage matches today. Their first match will be against Vietnam, followed by another important game against South Korea. If they qualify from the group, they can also play in the quarter-finals later in the day.
Which Indian players are playing today?
India will have two athletes in action on September 17:
Declan Marshall Gonsalves
Mohamed Anas Imran Beg
Both players will compete together in the Men’s Doubles Teqball event.
They are not new to playing together at the international level. Gonsalves and Beg won a bronze medal in Men’s Doubles at the 2024 World Teqball Championships in Vietnam. It was a major result for Indian teqball, with the pair reaching the semi-finals before finishing with bronze.
So, although teqball may still be a relatively new sport for many Indian fans, India have two experienced players starting their Asian Games campaign today.
Team India schedule today – September 17
Here is India’s schedule for today in Indian Standard Time (IST):
| Time | Sport | Match/Event | Stage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1:30 PM | Teqball | India vs Vietnam | Men’s Doubles – Group B |
| 2:00 PM | Teqball | India vs South Korea | Men’s Doubles – Group B |
| 4:00/4:30 PM* | Teqball | India – Opponent TBD | Men’s Doubles – Quarter-final |
| 5:00 PM* | Teqball | India – Opponent TBD | Men’s Doubles – Repechage |
*India’s participation in the later matches will depend on the results of the group stage. The detailed September 17 programme has the Men’s Doubles quarter-finals at 4:00 PM and 4:30 PM IST, so India’s exact slot will only be known after the group positions are decided. Repechage matches are scheduled from 5:00 PM IST.
India vs Vietnam – First match of the day
India’s first match is scheduled for 1:30 PM IST.
Declan Gonsalves and Mohamed Anas Beg will face the Vietnamese pair of Truong Giang Ba and Anh Khoa Le in their opening Men’s Doubles Group B match.
It will also be the first appearance by Indian athletes at this edition of the Asian Games.
Starting well will be important because India have another group match only 30 minutes later.
Match: India vs Vietnam
Sport: Teqball
Event: Men’s Doubles
Stage: Group B
Time: 1:30 PM IST
Venue: Nagoya City Higashi Sports Center, Nagoya
India vs South Korea – Second group match
India will return for their second match at 2:00 PM IST, when Gonsalves and Beg face South Korea.
The South Korean pair consists of Junsuk Lee and Taebeen Lee. This will be India’s second and final scheduled Group B match of the day.
With the two Indian matches being played almost back-to-back, Gonsalves and Beg will have very little time between the games.
Match: India vs South Korea
Sport: Teqball
Event: Men’s Doubles
Stage: Group B
Time: 2:00 PM IST
Venue: Nagoya City Higashi Sports Center, Nagoya
Can India play more matches today?
Yes.
The first two matches against Vietnam and South Korea are India’s confirmed matches. After that, their schedule will depend on where they finish in the group and how the knockout bracket is formed.
The Men’s Doubles quarter-finals are scheduled for 4:00 PM and 4:30 PM IST, while the repechage round is scheduled for 5:00 PM IST.
So Indian fans could potentially see Gonsalves and Beg in action again later today.
Where will India’s Teqball matches be played?
All of today’s Indian teqball action will take place at the Nagoya City Higashi Sports Center in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan.
The official Aichi-Nagoya 2026 venue information lists the Nagoya City Higashi Sports Center as one of the venues for the Teqball competition.
What is Teqball?
For fans watching it for the first time, Teqball is played with a football on a specially designed curved table.
The game requires football-style ball control rather than rackets. Players return the ball across the table using permitted parts of their body rather than their hands and arms.
It can be played in singles or doubles, and India will begin its Asian Games campaign in the Men’s Doubles category today.
The sport is one of the new additions to the Asian Games programme at Aichi-Nagoya 2026.
Gonsalves and Beg already have history together
There is also a good reason to keep an eye on the Indian pair.
At the 2024 World Teqball Championships in Ho Chi Minh City, Gonsalves and Beg made a strong run in Men’s Doubles. They reached the semi-finals and eventually took bronze. FITEQ records also confirm that the result was a historic World Championships medal for India.
Their previous experience together should therefore be useful when they face Vietnam and South Korea today.
However, the Asian Games is a new competition with a different field and format, so their previous medal does not guarantee how far they will go in Nagoya.
Where to watch Asian Games 2026 in India?
Asian Games 2026 coverage in India is available through the Sony Sports Network, while digital streaming is available on SonyLIV. Event availability can vary across channels and streams, so fans looking specifically for teqball should check the live programme close to match time.
Team India today at Asian Games 2026
For India, September 17 is a relatively small day in terms of the number of athletes competing, but it is an important one because it officially gets the Indian campaign underway.
Declan Gonsalves and Mohamed Anas Beg will be the Indian names to follow today.
Their first challenge comes against Vietnam at 1:30 PM IST, followed by South Korea at 2:00 PM IST. If the pair gets through the group stage, India’s Teqball campaign will continue into the knockout rounds later in the afternoon.
With the pair already having a World Championships bronze behind them, Indian fans will now be hoping they can produce another strong performance as India begins its journey at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.
