India’s men’s and women’s cricket teams will begin their Asian Games campaigns directly from the quarterfinals in Japan, with both sides entering the competition among the leading contenders for gold.
The Indian women’s team, led by Harmanpreet Kaur, will start its campaign against hosts Japan on September 18. The men’s side, captained by Shreyas Iyer, will play its opening match on September 28.
Both Indian teams have been seeded for the tournament and will therefore skip the preliminary stages. The cricket competition will be held at the Korogi Athletic Park near Nagoya.
India will arrive in Japan looking to repeat its success from the previous Asian Games in China, where the country completed a sweep of the cricket competition by winning both the men’s and women’s gold medals.
The women already know their opponent for the quarterfinal, with Japan standing between India and a place in the semifinals. Their competition will conclude with the gold-medal match on September 22.
The men, meanwhile, will have to wait for the preliminary group stage to determine their quarterfinal opponents. India will face the team that finishes second in Group A, which consists of Afghanistan, Japan and Nepal.
India are one of four seeded teams in the men’s cricket competition. Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are the other sides to receive seeded status, giving them direct entry into the knockout stage.
The format of the women’s competition is slightly different, with eight teams, including India, receiving seeded places.
With both teams entering at the quarterfinal stage, India will need to win three knockout matches to secure another gold medal. The women will get the first opportunity to defend their crown when they take on Japan, while the Shreyas-led men will begin their title defence 10 days later.
The women’s tournament will reach its conclusion on September 22, while the men’s gold-medal contest is scheduled for October 3.
After dominating the previous edition, India will once again have the opportunity to target a double gold as cricket returns to the Asian Games programme in Japan.
