Akshaj Shenoy Leads India’s League of Legends Team at Asian Games 2026
Akshaj Shenoy will captain India’s League of Legends team at the Asian Games 2026, carrying the country’s hopes for its first esports medal.
At 24, Akshaj Shenoy is set to captain India’s League of Legends team at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. For the Kochi-based esports player, the tournament represents another major step in a career that began with a shared computer and a game few people around him considered a serious career.
Shenoy discovered League of Legends as a teenager and played on overseas servers because India lacked dedicated infrastructure. He later connected with other Indian players and helped build competitive teams, eventually becoming part of India’s squad at the 2022 Asian Games, where the team finished fifth.
The current squad includes several players from that earlier setup, along with newer additions. They have trained extensively on Malaysian servers and competed against teams from Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
However, India faces a difficult challenge in Japan. The team has been drawn alongside South Korea and Chinese Taipei, both established forces in League of Legends. South Korea won gold and Chinese Taipei silver at the 2022 Asian Games.
Shenoy says the team believes a medal is possible, although he acknowledges the infrastructure gap between India and established esports nations.
For him, the Asian Games is about more than competition. It is also an opportunity to show that esports can become a legitimate career path for Indian players.
