India’s League of Legends team play three Asian Games games in one morning, and Faker’s South Korea come last
Chinese Taipei and Hong Kong come first on Wednesday, and a top-two finish in Group B would put India one step from an esports medal in Aichi-Nagoya.
Sep 28, 2026
India’s League of Legends team play their whole Asian Games group in a single morning on Wednesday, 30 September, at the Aichi Sky Expo near Nagoya. There are three best-of-one games, and only the top two in the four-team group reach the semi-finals.
The order is kind to them at the start and brutal at the end. India open against Chinese Taipei at 9am Japan time (5:30am IST), play Hong Kong at 11:30am (8am IST), and finish against South Korea at 2pm (10:30am IST). The start times are estimates, and in League of Legends a long first game pushes everything back.
The side India have to face last
South Korea won the gold in Hangzhou, and the side they have brought to Japan reads like a Worlds final line-up. Faker, a six-time world champion, plays mid. Around him are Zeus in the top lane, Canyon in the jungle, Gumayusi on the bot lane and Keria at support, with Zeka on the bench. Faker, Zeus, Gumayusi and Keria won Worlds together for T1 in 2023 and 2024. This is Faker’s third Asian Games; he took silver in 2018 and gold at Hangzhou in 2023.
India are not going to be favourites in that one. Their group is really decided in the first two games.
Chinese Taipei and Hong Kong
Chinese Taipei were the silver medallists at Hangzhou and have again picked players from leagues well above India’s level, including JunJia and hongQ, who play for JD Gaming. Three of Hong Kong’s starting five play for Frank Esports, with Kaiwing at support. India met Hong Kong in the qualifying phase this year.
That makes the opening two games the realistic target. Taking one of them keeps India alive going into the Korea game; winning both would very likely put them in the semi-finals, which are best-of-three and on 1 October. The two beaten semi-finalists then play off for bronze. Reaching the last four would put India in with a shot at a medal.
Who is playing for India
The five are Sanindhya “Deadcorporal” Malik at top, Aakash “Infi” Shandilya in the jungle, captain Akshaj “Kat Bot” Shenoy in mid, Mihir “Lotus” Ranjan on the bot lane and Rahul “Bob” Bisht at support, with Ahmed “Nero” Shahid also part of the squad. The squad plays for S8UL at club level, and most of them work or study alongside the game. Shenoy, 24 and based in Kochi, is preparing for an MBA and helps run his father’s business.
They qualified the long way. India came through the National Esports Championships 2026, then topped their regional qualifier by beating Jordan, Sri Lanka and Kazakhstan. The next stage, against Vietnam, Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia, brought defeats, but India still finished high enough to take a place in Aichi-Nagoya.
“Representing India at the Asian Games again is a moment of pride for all of us,” Shenoy said before the Games.
The word again matters. At Hangzhou in 2023 India went straight into the quarter-finals and lost 2-0 to Vietnam, with Shenoy captaining that side too. This time there is no seeding shortcut, and three games on one morning will settle it.