Wednesday, 31 December 2025
Wednesday, 31 December 2025
Exciting and challenging in equal measure, 2026 promises to be a landmark year for Indian sport with world titles up for grabs across disciplines and the beginning of a fresh Olympic qualification cycle that could deliver early tickets to the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
With established champions and emerging stars preparing for a demanding calendar, we take a look at a packed year that is set to keep fans engaged from January through December.
January-February-March
The opening quarter will revolve largely around cricket, with three World Cups scheduled in the space of less than two months.
The action begins with the Under-19 50-over World Cup in Zimbabwe and Namibia from 15 January to 6 February, where teenage talents such as Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Ayush Mhatre will be closely watched.
A day after the final of the age-group tournament that has previously produced stars of Virat Kohli’s stature, the senior Indian men will launch their defence of the T20 world title.
The home World Cup, which will also feature some matches in Sri Lanka, runs from 7 February to 8 March.
Tennis will open its season with the Australian Open from 12 January to 1 February, though the Indian presence is unlikely to generate major attention.
Badminton, however, is expected to draw keen interest when the All England Championships begin on 3 March, with a fit-again PV Sindhu and the rest of the Indian contingent looking to rebuild after a disappointing season.
Football fans will also have reason to tune in as the AFC Women’s Asian Cup gets underway in Australia from 1 March, marking India’s return to the tournament after a long gap.
April-May-June
The sporting calendar intensifies from the end of March. Two major events begin on 28 March, the Candidates Tournament of chess in Cyprus and the Asian Boxing Championships in Mongolia.
The Candidates Tournament, which will decide the challenger for the World Championship crown held by India’s D Gukesh, will run until 16 April and feature R Praggnanandhaa in the Open section along with R Vaishali, Koneru Humpy and Divya Deshmukh in the women’s field.
The boxing championships conclude on 11 April.
Weightlifting will take centre stage in Ahmedabad with the Asian Championships scheduled from 1-10 April.
Badminton’s Thomas and Uber Cup follows from 24 April to 3 May, before the focus shifts to table tennis with the ITTF World Team Championships Finals in London from 28 April to 10 May, where both Indian men’s and women’s teams have qualified.
June will bring renewed attention to women’s cricket when the T20 World Cup puts the spotlight back on Harmanpreet Kaur and her teammates as they attempt to add the shortest format title to the ODI World Cup they won in 2025.
The athletics season will also gain momentum with the Diamond League meetings beginning in May, with javelin star Neeraj Chopra expected to headline as he builds towards the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games.
Globally, fans will be engrossed by the French Open in May, Wimbledon in June and the FIFA World Cup in June and July, jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.
July-August-September
A scaled-down Commonwealth Games from 23 July to 2 August will be a major highlight of the mid-year period.
With shooting and wrestling removed from the roster to control costs, India’s medal hopes will rest heavily on athletics, boxing and weightlifting.
Shortly after the Games, India will host the World Badminton Championships in Delhi from 17 August, underlining the country’s growing role as a venue for major international events.
Hockey will command attention from 14 August when the men’s and women’s World Cups begin in Belgium and the Netherlands.
India’s men have already secured qualification by winning the Asia Cup, while the women will have to earn their place through qualifiers in March.
Athletics will also make a significant mark domestically when Bhubaneswar hosts a World Athletics Continental Tour silver-level event starting 22 August, a landmark competition for the Indian calendar.
September will be dominated by the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, from 19 September to 4 October, one of the most important platforms for early Olympic qualification.
Gold medallists in hockey will secure direct entry to the Los Angeles Games, while shooting will also offer quota places.
Ahead of the Games, the Diamond League Finals will be held in Brussels on 4 and 5 September.
The 46th Chess Olympiad is scheduled to take place in Tashkent in September, with exact dates yet to be confirmed, following India’s double gold triumph in the men’s and women’s events in 2025.
October-November-December
The final quarter of the year will feature several marquee world championships.
Wrestling’s World Championships are slated for Bahrain from 24 October, followed closely by the World Weightlifting Championships in China from 27 October to 8 November.
From 1 November, shooters will target Olympic quota places at the ISSF World Championship in Doha, Qatar, covering rifle, pistol and shotgun events.
December will close the year with the World Chess Championships, though the dates and venue are yet to be finalised.
Some key events are still awaiting confirmation
Neeraj Chopra’s NC Classic, which debuted in Bengaluru in July last year and has been described by the Olympic champion as an annual project, is expected to return in 2026, though its window has not been announced.
The schedule for the 2026 World Boxing Cups also remains to be confirmed.
