Only three players from Gujarat participated in the Asian Games held in 2014. After 12 years this number increased to three. Nine players from Gujarat and one reserve player will represent India in the upcoming Asian Games to be held in Japan.
Gandhinagar, July 27, 2026 – next asian games9 players from Gujarat will represent India. The sports graph of Gujarat is going up very fast. In the year 2014, only players from Gujarat had represented the country in the 17th Asian Games, but today the state has broken its own record. A nine-strong contingent from Gujarat — and one high-value reserve player — has been selected for the upcoming 20th Asian Games to be held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan from September 19 to October 4, 2026. This is indeed a proud moment for Gujarat.
- “In order to develop the talent of players from Gujarat at the international level, the then Chief Minister and present Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi had implemented the ‘Shakti Doot Scheme’ from Khel Mahakumbh. These efforts are now yielding results. Gujarat is now becoming a global powerhouse for sports,” *Native Chief Minister Shri Harshvi Sangh.
The selection of such a large number of players from Gujarat in an important competition like the Asian Games shows that the foundation laid by the then Chief Minister and present Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in the field of sports is strong and its fruits are now being seen. Not only this, Gujarat has now become a powerhouse of multi-sports instead of just a cricket loving state.
The players from Gujarat selected to represent India are a wonderful mix of experienced champions from various sports and enthusiastic young talents:
The players selected represent various sporting disciplines, highlighting Gujarat’s growing contribution to Indian sports at the international level. The state contingent includes shooter Elavenil Valarivan, table tennis players Harmeet Desai, Manav Thakur and Manush Shah, soft tennis players Aniket Patel, Taranvir Aryan Nehra, tennis players Ankita Raina and Vaidehi Chaudhary and sprinter Devyani Zala. Tennis player Jill Desai has been selected as a reserve player.
The ‘game plan’ behind this success
This boom in the sports sector did not happen overnight. It is an excellent result of a long-term strategy. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi laid the foundation by implementing schemes like ‘Shaktidoot Yojana’ during his tenure as the Chief Minister of Gujarat. Gujarat got sports talents from the local level and now they are visible at the international level. Taking this legacy forward, the present government has also maintained this momentum.
Deputy Chief Minister Shri Harsh Sanghvi said, “Under the leadership of Chief Minister Shri Bhupendra Patel, Gujarat is completely focusing on building a world-class sports culture. We are not only training the players, but are also creating an entire ecosystem to bring glory to the country at the international level.”
Shri Harsh Sanghvi said that Gujarat will host the Commonwealth Games in the year 2030. For this, preparations are going on war footing to create world class sports infrastructure.
In the last decade, Gujarat has continuously increased its representation in the Olympics, Commonwealth Games and Asian Games. Now all eyes will be on the players of Gujarat participating in the Asian Games to be held in the coming months.
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