Sep 22: 58 Indian athletes and students of Lovely Professional University are set to represent India at the 20th Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, adding another significant chapter to the university’s growing sporting journey. The LPU contingent accounts for around 11% of India’s 503-athlete contingent at the continental sporting event, with athletes competing across 15 sports as India prepares to compete from September 19 to October 4.
Among the prominent LPU athletes set to compete for India are Taniparthi Chikitha in Archery, Ishan Kishan in Cricket, Elavenil Valarivan and Neeru in Shooting, Bommadevara Dhiraj in Archery, Preeti in Boxing, Dharmveer Choudhary in Athletics and Harmanpreet Singh in Hockey. Their participation reflects the growing presence of LPU athletes across diverse sporting disciplines and highlights the university’s continued focus on creating pathways for talented sportspersons to compete at the highest levels. Chikitha is part of India’s women’s compound archery team, while Dhiraj Bommadevara is competing in men’s recurve; Ishan Kishan is part of India’s men’s cricket squad, and Elavenil Valarivan and Neeru are among India’s shooting entries.
Speaking ahead of the Games, Dr Ashok Kumar Mittal, Founder Chancellor, LPU, stated,
“Our vision is to build an ecosystem where sporting talent receives the same depth of institutional support as academic excellence. This means providing athletes with professional training, access to modern facilities and the flexibility to pursue education alongside high-performance sport. Universities can play a defining role in strengthening India’s sporting future by creating pathways that take young talent from the campus to the world stage.”
The 58 LPU athletes span 15 sports, with the largest representation coming from Canoeing & Kayaking, Shooting, Hockey, Wrestling, Rowing, Archery, Athletics, Boxing, Aquatics/Swimming, Badminton, Cricket, Weightlifting, Karate, Rugby and Wushu. This wide spread underlines the university’s representation across both established Olympic disciplines and a range of other competitive sports.
LPU’s sporting ecosystem is designed to allow athletes to pursue competitive sport alongside higher education. The university provides access to specialised sporting infrastructure, professional coaching, sports scholarships, performance-focused training and academic support, enabling student athletes to balance their sporting commitments with their education. Its sports ecosystem spans disciplines including athletics, shooting, fencing, boxing, hockey, wrestling, weightlifting, karate, judo, badminton, archery and several other sports. LPU also provides sports-based scholarships and financial support for athletes based on their sporting performance, along with access to sports facilities.
With 58 students now preparing to compete for India at the Asian Games 2026, LPU’s latest representation adds another chapter to its growing sporting legacy. The university’s strong presence on the global sporting stage was also evident at the Paris 2024 Olympics, where 24 LPU students represented India, accounting for 21% of the Indian Olympic contingent. At the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, 13 LPU students had represented the country, including athletes from hockey, athletics, wrestling and javelin.