Pistol shooter Anish Bhanwala and grappler Antim Panghal are only 23 and 24 years old. Still relatively young, both heading to the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya have been representing India since they were teens.Rapid fire ace, Anish has already participated in two Asian Games — 2018 Jakarta-Palembang and 2022 Hangzhou, but did not win a medal. Antim won a bronze at the last edition in the 53kg weight category. Both have been to the Olympics as well. Now battle-hardened, somewhat more mature, they want the big podium finish in Japan — the Asian Games begin on September 19 and conclude on October 4.Medal runWith wrestling, shooting, and athletics being India’s core sports disciplines, the number of gold medals will decide India’s place on the Asian map. At the 2022 Asian Games, India won 28 gold, 38 silver and 41 bronze medals to finish fourth in the medals tally. With a total of 107 medals, this was the best ever show.“This would be my third Asian Games, but I am not hyping it too much. This unnecessarily adds to the noise and makes you tense. I have been to the Olympics and World Championships and without meaning to disrespect Asian Games, in shooting our only big opponents are the Chinese and Korean shooters,” Anish said.“I have already been at the podium in the past three Asian championships and cannot explain how I feel. I am shooting the same way when I was 17. Feels like everything is in rhythm and I am relaxed. I am very confident that we will match the medals tally from the last Games for sure,” he added.Antim doesn’t want to disclose her expectations, but exudes confidence that she is a far better wrestler now. Having already recovered from a back injury and a few upsets, including failing in the trials for the Asian Championships earlier this year, the 23-year-old says she is more focused now. “I want to give my best this time. I have been working very hard on both my offensive and defensive techniques so I feel I am ready. I am also watching footage of all my prospective opponents,” the two-time World Championships bronze medallist says.On the other end of the spectrum is one of India’s most known faces when it comes to 3000m steeplechase: Avinash Sable. The 31-year-old has recovered from a knee injury that he suffered during the 2025 Monaco Diamond League. Now fit, he wants to retain his title in Japan. “I am mentally and physically strong now to face any challenge,” the Hangzhou gold medallist said, who had also won the silver medal in the men’s 5,000m in 2022.Young archers on the big stageWhile the optimism is high, there are a few disciplines, including archery, where the team is young and inexperienced. Apart from Dhiraj Bommadevara and Ankita Bhagat in recurve and V Jyothi Surekha in women’s compound archery, the rest of the team is fresh. Former India international Dola Banerjee advises patience. “In crunch times, experience comes in handy. Most of our archers have been promoted from the youth setup so we have to be mindful of that,” Banerjee says. “We should just let them enjoy this big experience and whatever they achieve should be celebrated. Having said that, fresh faces do not approach competitions with any baggage, and can come up with surprising results,” she adds.Defending the cricket, hockey titlesThe Indian men’s and women’s cricket teams head to Aichi-Nagoya to defend their titles won in the last edition. The men’s hockey team will also look to defend its gold medal as winning the podium will mean booking a spot for the 2028 LA Olympics.India will also look to end its Asian Games drought in weightlifting. Karnam Malleswari’s 1998 silver was the last time an Indian stood on the podium at the Asian Games.