Diverse Non-Olympic Sports Under the Spotlight at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games

Kabaddi being played at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, October 2023. (© Han Haidan/China News Service /VC/Reuters)

Thailand and Vietnam competing at sepak takraw at the Southeast Asian Games in Thailand in December 2025. (© Teera Noisakran/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect)

Jūjitsu at the Chengdu 2025 World Games in August 2025. (© Reuters)

Kurash at the 2019 Southeast Asian Games in San Fernando, the Philippines, in December 2019. (© Reuters)

The Japanese domestic qualifying round, held at Komazawa Gymnasium in Tokyo in December 2025, to decide the participants for the Men’s MMA event at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. (© Kyōdō)

Women’s taijiquan (tai chi), part of taolu, being performed at the World Wushu Championships in Kazan, Russia, in October 2017. (© Jiji/Japan Wushu Taijiquan Federation)

The Japan men’s team’s kata performance in the karate finals at the Hangzhou Asian Games in China in October 2023. (© Jiji)

The esports venue at the Hangzhou Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, in September 2023. (© AFP/Jiji)

The World Taekwondo Virtual Championships in Singapore in November 2024. (© Reuters)

Action from the Teqball World Series Beijing in September 2025. (© VCG via Reuters Connect)

Players in the FIP Bronze Go Park padel competition in Hong Kong in March 2026. (© SCMP via Reuters Connect)