Nagoya, Japan, April 30, 2025: The Deputy Director General of the Olympic Council of Asia, Vinod Kumar Tiwari, stressed the unique nature of the 20th Asian Games at the opening ceremony of the 1st Technical Delegates Meeting at the Nagoya Tokyu Hotel on Wednesday morning.
Mr. Tiwari told the audience of 350 people, including 67 technical delegates, that every Asian Games was unique – and that Aichi-Nagoya 2026 faced special challenges.
“All the Games are unique and this Games also is very unique in nature because it is five cities which will be holding different sports,” he said.
“So, during these three days of this Technical Delegates Meeting, please go and have a look at where your sport is being held and try to finalise all the accommodations because we have some challenges here which is unique in nature.
“So please go and finalise and see where your officials are staying, their accommodation, all those plans. Ensure that all those things that are required from your side are taken care of so that, during the Games time, you have no issues. Try to finalise everything before you leave.”
Mr. Tiwari said the technical delegates were the “guides of the Games” and would ensure smooth operations and management for the 41 sports, 66 disciplines and 456 events in 53 competition venues.
The participants were welcomed to the meeting by Satoshi Murate, Secretary General of organising committee AINAGOC. He said there were fewer than 500 days to go to the opening of the Asian Games on September 19, 2026 and he recognized the “urgent need to accelerate preparations”.
“Your expertise is indispensable,” he said. “We will provide an overview of the preparations and we welcome frank and candid opinions.
“We are committed to working together as one team in the spirit of the Asian Games slogan ‘Imagine One Asia’. This meeting will serve as a crucial kick-off.”
The 20th Asian Games will run from September 19 to October 4, 2026 with 15,000 athletes and officials from the OCA’s 45 National Olympic Committees.
Key dates:
Sports Entry
2025
May-June: Entry by Sport
July-September: Entry by Number
2026
May-July: Entry by Name
Chefs de Mission Seminar
2025
September 22-26: 1st CDM Seminar
2026
May/June: 2nd CDM Seminar
Technical Delegates Meeting
2025
April 30-May 2: 1st TDM
November/December: 2nd TDM
2026
April/May: 3rd TDM
Delegation Registration Meeting
2026
May-June: Pre-DRM
June-July: Digital DRM
August-September: Final DRM
Team Sports Draw: July 2026
Test Events
September 2025-June 2026
