Bigger than Paris Olympics: Asian Games 2026 kicks off with 11K athletes, 43 sports

The Asian Games are officially underway in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, on Saturday and the numbers alone tell part of the story: this is a sporting event that is bigger than the Paris Olympics in athlete participation, while also offering a programme that looks markedly different from the world's biggest multi-sport spectacle.More than 11,000 athletes are expected to compete at the 20th Asian Games, compared with about 10,700 at the 2024 Paris Olympics.That does not make the Asian Games bigger than the Olympics in prestige or global reach. But by the sheer number of athletes taking part, the continental showpiece has once again crossed the Olympic mark.And the scale becomes even clearer when the programme is considered.A total of 43 sports featured at Aichi-Nagoya, with athletes from 45 countries and regions competing from September 19 to October 4.