How to Watch Asian Games 2026 Kabaddi Live in India: India’s Full Fixture List, Confirmed IST Match Timings, Session Structure and the Complete Six-Day Viewing Guide
Quick answer: Asian Games 2026 kabaddi runs from 21 to 26 September. India’s men open against hosts Japan in the morning session on 21 September, which begins at 6:00 AM IST. India’s women open against Bangladesh in the evening session the same day. Semi-finals are on 25 September and both gold medal matches on 26 September.
How to Watch Asian Games 2026 Kabaddi Live in India
This is the detail that catches Indian viewers out every Asian Games cycle. Japan Standard Time is UTC+9. Indian Standard Time is UTC+5:30. Japan is therefore three hours and thirty minutes ahead of India.
The practical effect is that a match starting at 9:30 AM in Tōkai begins at 6:00 AM in India. Morning-session kabaddi at these Games is early-morning viewing in India, and evening-session matches land in the Indian afternoon rather than the evening.
| Japan Standard Time | Indian Standard Time |
|---|---|
| 9:30 AM | 6:00 AM |
| 11:00 AM | 7:30 AM |
| 1:00 PM | 9:30 AM |
| 3:00 PM | 11:30 AM |
| 5:00 PM | 1:30 PM |
| 7:00 PM | 3:30 PM |
Anyone planning to watch India’s opener should be set up before 6:00 AM IST. That is the confirmed start of the morning session on day one.
The six-day competition structure
Kabaddi at Aichi-Nagoya occupies six consecutive days with no rest day in the group phase.
| Date | Stage | Matches |
|---|---|---|
| Mon 21 September | Group stage, day 1 | Men’s and women’s group matches |
| Tue 22 September | Group stage, day 2 | Men’s and women’s group matches |
| Wed 23 September | Group stage, day 3 | Includes India vs Iran, women’s |
| Thu 24 September | Group stage, day 4 | Final round-robin fixtures |
| Fri 25 September | Semi-finals | Both men’s and women’s semi-finals |
| Sat 26 September | Finals | Both gold medal matches |
Each competition day is divided into a morning session and an evening session, with matches from both the men’s and women’s draws distributed across them.
India’s men’s fixtures
India’s men are in Group A with Bangladesh, the Republic of Korea, Chinese Taipei and hosts Japan. Four group matches across four days.
- 21 September — India vs Japan. Morning session, from 6:00 AM IST. The tournament opener against the host nation.
- India vs Republic of Korea. Technically the most demanding group fixture.
- India vs Bangladesh. A South Asian rivalry with genuine competitive history.
- India vs Chinese Taipei. On paper the most straightforward, and the likely score-difference-building fixture.
Session allocations for matches two through four are being confirmed by the organising committee. Given the pattern of day one, expect a mix of morning and evening slots, which in IST terms means either an early-morning or a late-morning start.
India’s women’s fixtures
The women are in Group A with Iran, Japan and Bangladesh — three matches, no easy fixture.
- 21 September — India vs Bangladesh. Evening session, which lands in the Indian afternoon.
- 23 September — India vs Iran. The most significant women’s group fixture of the tournament.
- India vs Japan. Against the host nation, likely to decide the group standings.
Broadcast and streaming: what is and is not confirmed
Here is where most articles on this topic overstate what is known, so we will be precise.
Indian broadcast and streaming rights for the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Games have not been publicly confirmed in a form we can verify at the time of writing. Historically, Asian Games coverage in India has been carried by a major sports broadcaster with an accompanying streaming platform, and Doordarshan has carried selected coverage at previous editions. We are not going to name a channel we cannot confirm.
What we can tell you is when to look. Rights announcements for multi-sport events typically land two to three weeks before the opening ceremony, which places the likely announcement window in early September 2026. This page will be updated as soon as it is official.
If you follow the domestic league, the arrangement for those matches is separate and unrelated — our PKL 2026 schedule hub covers the league’s own broadcast picture.
Which fixtures are worth setting an alarm for
Six days of kabaddi across two draws is a lot of viewing. If you are being selective, these are the matches that will decide the tournament.
India vs Republic of Korea, men’s group stage. Korea’s defensive discipline has troubled India at this level before. This is the fixture most likely to produce a genuine upset in Group A.
India vs Iran, women’s group stage, 23 September. The best women’s kabaddi fixture available at these Games, and because of the draw it happens in the group phase rather than a final.
Both semi-finals, 25 September. Iran are in the men’s Group B, meaning any India-Iran men’s meeting can only happen from the semi-finals onwards. If both top their groups, they meet in the final instead.
Both gold medal matches, 26 September. Men’s and women’s finals on the same day.
How the format affects what you are watching
Understanding the qualification maths changes how you read a group match. Ten men’s teams are split into two groups of five; eight women’s teams into two groups of four. Only the top two from each group reach the semi-finals, and score difference is the tiebreaker.
That is why you will see India continue raiding aggressively against weaker opposition rather than protecting a lead. Every additional point of margin is insurance against a three-way tie on day four. It is the same mechanic that decides tight domestic standings — our points table guide explains how score difference works in practice.
Watching kabaddi for the first time
If the Asian Games is your entry point to the sport, three things will make the six days considerably more watchable.
The raid is a forty-second possession. One attacker crosses into the opposition half, tries to touch a defender, and must return across the midline. Points go to whoever wins the exchange.
The bonus line is a free point. A raider who crosses it with the required number of defenders on the mat scores without touching anyone. In cautious international matches, bonus points often decide games.
Do-or-die raids are the pressure moment. If a team fails to score on two consecutive raids, the third must produce a point or the raider is out. Watch for the count — commentary will flag it, and it is where most upsets begin.
Day-by-day viewing guide
Six consecutive competition days, each split into a morning and an evening session, with men’s and women’s fixtures distributed across both. Here is how to plan around it in Indian time.
Monday 21 September — opening day. India’s men face hosts Japan in the morning session, from 6:00 AM IST. The women play Bangladesh in the evening session, which in Indian terms falls in the afternoon. This is the heaviest India day of the group phase and the one to clear your schedule for.
Tuesday 22 September — group stage, day two. Round two of both draws. India’s men face one of Korea, Bangladesh or Chinese Taipei depending on final fixture allocation.
Wednesday 23 September — the women’s group decider. India versus Iran in the women’s competition. Given that only two of four teams progress from Group A, this is functionally an elimination match for the loser. The single best women’s fixture of the tournament.
Thursday 24 September — final group matches. Qualification is settled. Expect score-difference calculations to become visible in how teams play the closing minutes.
Friday 25 September — semi-finals. All four semi-finals, men’s and women’s, on one day. If India’s men have topped Group A and Iran have topped Group B, they avoid each other until the final. If either finished second, they meet here.
Saturday 26 September — gold medal matches. Both finals on the same day. There is no bronze medal match; losing semi-finalists take bronze.
Working out any match time yourself
Rather than relying on a published IST conversion for every fixture, the arithmetic is simple enough to do at a glance: subtract three hours and thirty minutes from the Japanese local time.
A 10:00 AM start in Tōkai is 6:30 AM in India. A 2:30 PM start is 11:00 AM. A 6:00 PM evening fixture is 2:30 PM IST. Once you know whether a match is in the morning or evening session, you can place it in your own day without waiting for a converted schedule.
One practical warning: neither India nor Japan observes daylight saving, so the offset does not shift during the tournament. Whatever conversion works on 21 September works on 26 September.
A short glossary for new viewers
If the Asian Games is your first exposure to competitive kabaddi, these are the terms commentary will use without explaining.
- Raid — a single attacking possession. One player enters the opposition half and attempts to touch defenders before returning.
- Bonus point — awarded when a raider crosses the bonus line with the required number of defenders on the mat, without needing to touch anyone.
- Do-or-die raid — the third raid after two consecutive unsuccessful ones. The raider must score or be declared out.
- Super raid — a raid producing three or more points in one possession.
- Super tackle — a successful tackle made when the defending side has three or fewer players on the mat. Worth an extra point.
- All out — when a team loses all seven players. The opposition receives bonus points and the side is revived.
- Lobby — the side channel of the mat, which only comes into play once a tackle has been initiated.
- Score difference — cumulative points scored minus points conceded. The tiebreaker for group qualification.
How international kabaddi differs from what you see in the league
Viewers who follow franchise kabaddi and then watch a knockout international sometimes find the game slower and lower-scoring than expected. That is not a drop in quality; it is a rational response to different incentives.
League kabaddi is a long season where aggression pays off over many matches. A raider who attempts high-risk multi-point raids will fail often and succeed often, and across twenty-two matches the successes outweigh the failures.
Knockout kabaddi removes that maths. One failed raid at the wrong moment ends a campaign. Raiders take bonus points and return. Defences hold shape and wait. Matches are decided by two or three points rather than ten, and the do-or-die raid becomes the dominant scoring event.
The practical viewing implication: do not judge the tournament by the first ten minutes of a group match. The tension in international kabaddi is cumulative, and the closing five minutes of a tight match are as good as anything the sport produces.
Following results if you cannot watch live
A 6:00 AM IST start is not viable for everyone. Match results, group standings and qualification scenarios are updated through the competition, and the group tables are the fastest way to understand where India stands: with two qualification places per group and score difference as the tiebreaker, the table tells you the situation more clearly than a scoreline does.
Frequently asked questions
What time does India’s first Asian Games 2026 kabaddi match start?
India’s men open against Japan in the morning session on 21 September, which starts at 6:00 AM IST. The women play Bangladesh in the evening session the same day.
What is the time difference between India and Japan for these Games?
Japan is three hours and thirty minutes ahead of India. Japan Standard Time is UTC+9; Indian Standard Time is UTC+5:30.
Where can I watch Asian Games 2026 kabaddi live in India?
Indian broadcast and streaming rights had not been publicly confirmed at the time of writing. Announcements for multi-sport events typically arrive two to three weeks before the opening ceremony.
When are the Asian Games 2026 kabaddi finals?
Both gold medal matches — men’s and women’s — are on 26 September 2026. The semi-finals are the day before, on 25 September.
Will India play Iran in the men’s kabaddi competition?
Only from the semi-finals onwards. Iran are in Group B and India in Group A, so they cannot meet during the round-robin stage.
How many kabaddi matches will India play at the Asian Games 2026?
The men play four group matches, plus up to two knockout matches. The women play three group matches, plus up to two knockout matches.
The official competition schedule and session listings are maintained by the Pro Kabaddi League’s Asian Games feature.
