Olympic Council of Asia keen on cricket in Asian Games 2026 despite venue woes

The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) is keen to include cricket at the 2026 Asian Games which is scheduled to be held in Japan and is considering the possibility of adapting a baseball stadium in Nagoya for this purpose. Administrators of cricket view multi-sport competitions such as the Asian Games as a chance to promote the sport, which will make its long-awaited (128-year) Olympic comeback in Los Angeles in 2028. 

OCA acting president, Randhir Singh, stated that the board is working on the sports schedule for the 2026 Asian Games and confirmed that cricket should be included. Notably, cricket was excluded from the 2018 Games in Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia, while it was included in the Games in Hangzhou, China, last year.

"We are still working on the sports programme for the 2026 Games but yes, we would want cricket to be part of it," Singh told Reuters.

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In spite of everything, the absence of cricket facilities in Japan continues to be an issue. Although Tochigi prefecture, north of Tokyo, has an international cricket stadium, the OCA would like a venue in or near Nagoya, the capital of Aichi prefecture, where the Games will take place. According to OCA Deputy Director General Vinod Kumar Tiwari, who travelled to Japan last month with an OCA coordination delegation to supervise preparations for the Asian Games, the Tochigi stadium is pretty far away from Nagoya. 

"We are working with the Asian Cricket Council on this," Tiwari said on set up of the stadium. 

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Meanwhile, Naoki Alex Miyaji, the chief executive of the Japan Cricket Association, stated that the country's cricket governing body will offer every sort of support for the 2026 Asian Games as he thinks it will leave a legacy. Moreover, the 2026 Asian Games schedule will be finalized during an OCA General Assembly which is scheduled to be held in April.

"It will be great to have cricket in the 2026 Games, and we at JCA will provide all kind of support. It would leave a fantastic legacy, and go a long way in promoting the game in the country," said Miyaji.