India, Sept. 18 -- India women begin their Asian Games 2026 campaign against hosts Japan in the quarterfinal on Friday, September 18. Harmanpreet Kaur's side enter the contest as the defending champions and will be looking to start their gold-medal defence with a win at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin, Aichi.

India head into the Asian Games after winning their eighth Women's Asia Cup title, beating Sri Lanka by 72 runs in the final. The team will now look to carry that momentum into the knockout stage of the Asian Games.

Harmanpreet will lead an experienced Indian side that includes Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh and Renuka Singh Thakur.

Japan, meanwhile, will be hoping to make the most of home conditions. Cap...