Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — World boxing champion Turabek Khabibullaev and Gulistan Perdebaeva, the fencing champion of the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games, have been selected as Uzbekistan’s flag bearers for the opening ceremony of the 20th Summer Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026.
The opening ceremony will take place in Japan on 19 September, marking the official start of the Games, which will run until 4 October. The main competitions are being held in Aichi Prefecture and the city of Nagoya, while several events are taking place at other venues, including in Tokyo.
Athletes representing 45 countries and regions are participating in the Asian Games. The programme features 43 sports and 469 medal events.
New disciplines included in the programme are BMX freestyle, mixed martial arts, teqball and virtual taekwondo.
The official mascot of the Games is Honhorn, a tiger-fish character inspired by the traditional Japanese protective deity Shachi-hoko.
