NEW DELHI: Excitement and challenge will go hand in hand for Indian sport in 2026, a year loaded with world titles, major continental events and the start of a fresh Olympic qualification cycle that will offer early routes to the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
As India’s established stars and emerging names prepare for an intense year, the sporting calendar promises sustained engagement for fans, stretching from the opening weeks to the closing days of December. Here is a reworked look at the key highlights across the year.
The year begins with cricket firmly in the spotlight, with three World Cups ensuring the first quarter revolves around the bat and ball.
The action opens with the Under-19 ODI World Cup in Zimbabwe and Namibia from January 15 to February 6. Young prospects such as Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Ayush Mhatre will be closely tracked as India looks to unearth its next generation of stars.
Almost immediately after the junior final, attention will shift to the senior men’s team, who begin their T20 World Cup title defense at home from February 7 to March 8, with a few matches scheduled in Sri Lanka as well.
Tennis will return to center stage with the Australian Open from January 12 to February 1, though Indian participation is unlikely to spark major excitement.
Badminton fans, however, will be keenly invested in the All England Championships starting March 3, where a fully fit PV Sindhu and the rest of the Indian contingent aim to reset after a subdued season.
Football also finds a place early in the year, with the AFC Women’s Asian Cup beginning on March 1 in Australia. India’s qualification for the tournament after a long gap adds extra significance.
Late March brings two important events that spill into April. The Candidates Tournament in chess, hosted in Cyprus from March 28 to April 16, will decide the challenger to world champion D Gukesh. India will be represented by R Praggnanandhaa in the Open section and R Vaishali, Koneru Humpy and Divya Deshmukh in the women’s field.
Running alongside it from March 28 to April 11 will be the Asian Boxing Championships in Mongolia.
India will also host the Asian Weightlifting Championships in Ahmedabad from April 1 to 10, followed by the Thomas and Uber Cup finals in badminton from April 24 to May 3.
Table tennis takes over soon after, with the ITTF World Team Championships Finals in London from April 28 to May 10, where both Indian men’s and women’s teams have secured qualification.
June will see renewed focus on the Indian women’s cricket team as they enter the T20 World Cup, aiming to add another global title after their ODI triumph in 2025.
The athletics season will gather pace from May with the Diamond League circuit, where Neeraj Chopra will be under the spotlight as he builds towards the Commonwealth and Asian Games.
Globally, fans will also follow the French Open in May, Wimbledon in June and the FIFA World Cup, jointly hosted by the USA, Mexico and Canada from June to July.
A trimmed-down Commonwealth Games from July 23 to August 2 will still hold major interest for India, particularly in athletics, boxing and weightlifting. The absence of shooting and wrestling, dropped to control costs, will be keenly felt.
Soon after, India will host the World Badminton Championships in Delhi from August 17, reinforcing the country’s growing reputation as a destination for major international events.
Hockey will command attention around the same time, with the men’s and women’s World Cups starting on August 14 in Belgium and the Netherlands. India’s men have already qualified, while the women will have to earn their place through qualifiers in March.
On August 22, Bhubaneswar will stage a World Athletics Continental Tour silver-level meet, a significant addition to India’s sporting calendar.
September will be dominated by the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya from September 19 to October 4, a crucial event in the road to Los Angeles 2028. Gold medals in hockey will secure Olympic qualification, while shooting will also offer quota places.
Just ahead of the Games, the Diamond League Finals will be held in Brussels on September 4 and 5.
The Chess Olympiad is scheduled for September in Tashkent, with dates yet to be finalized. India will arrive as defending champions in both the men’s and women’s events after their historic 2025 sweep.
The final quarter begins with the World Wrestling Championships in Bahrain from October 24, followed closely by the World Weightlifting Championships in China from October 27 to November 8.
From November 1, shooters will target Olympic quota places at the ISSF World Championships in Doha, covering rifle, pistol and shotgun disciplines.
December will close the year with the World Chess Championships, though the venue and dates are still to be confirmed.
Neeraj Chopra’s NC Classic, which debuted in Bengaluru last July, is expected to return in 2026 after the Olympic champion indicated it would become an annual event. The dates, however, are still awaited.
The schedule for the 2026 World Boxing Cups also remains unconfirmed.
(With PTI Inputs)
