Padel makes its debut in Nagoya: first Asian medals at stake from 28 September

NAGOYA, Japan – Padel is ready for another first. From Monday 28 September to Saturday 3 October, the Nagoya City Higashi Sports Center will host the Padel tournament at the XX Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026, with the first continental titles in Asia at stake.

 

A new milestone for the International Padel Federation and the global movement as a whole, following the inclusion of Padel as a medal sport at the recently concluded Mediterranean Games and South American Games. The debut at the Asian Games confirms the sport’s remarkable spread across Asia, culminating in the agreements between FIP, the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games Organising Committee (AINAGOC).

 

THE DRAWS The continent’s leading talents are ready to take to the court and write the first historic chapter of Asian Padel within the Olympic movement. Pairs representing numerous National Olympic Committees will compete at the Asian Games, from Japan to the Persian Gulf, as well as from Southeast Asia and Central Asia. There are 20 pairs in the men’s draw, led by Qatar’s Mashari Nawaf and Rashed Nawaf Naif. They are followed by Iranian pair Amir Mohamad Jamshidi and Farsad Shahi, and Malaysian duo Christian Didier Chin Zao Quan and Aidan Yunus. Also chasing a medal are the delegations from Japan, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.

 

There are 23 pairs in the women’s tournament, with Japan’s Kotomi Ozawa and Chifumi Sato at the top of the seeding, followed by compatriots Kae Tokumoto and Saki Tsukamoto. Also among the leading contenders are the Indonesian pairs led by Novela Putria and Beatrice Gumulya, as well as players from Hong Kong, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Iran.

 

THE SCHEDULE Six days of competition will get under way on Monday 28 September, with the opening elimination rounds continuing on Tuesday morning. The round of 16 will begin on the afternoon of 29 September and continue throughout 30 September. The tournament will then move into the quarter-finals on 1 October, before reaching its climax with the semi-finals on 2 October and the finals on Saturday 3 October, when the bronze medals and the gold-medal matches will be decided.