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| The 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou and India’s prospects | | | | Delayed by a year owing to COVID-19 restrictions in China, The Asian Games officially begin on today as Saturday in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou and will feature several sports that are unlikely to be seen in any other major continental or global competitions.
. First held in Delhi in 1951, the latest Asiad will have nearly 12,500 athletes, a lot more than the 11,000 at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
Following is a look at some of the more unusual events in the schedule of the 19th edition of the Asian Games:KABADDI A team sport born in India, no nation had upset the game's creators until 2018. India won seven straight men's tournaments between 1990-2014, as well as the first two women's tournaments, before Iran ended their dominance by claiming both gold medals at Jakarta.Athletes in Hangzhou will be competing in 40 sports, including breakdancing and esports which will make their debut in the 16-day event.
There are sports too such as xiangqi and go which could make many turn to search engines on the Internet. In a few sports, including hockey, archery, tennis and boxing, the Asiad will also offer Olympic qualification spots for Paris 2024. China is a giant, topping the medal table at the Games every time from 1982 when India hosted it for the second time, again in Delhi. At the last Asiad, in Jakarta 2018, China finished on top with 289 medals, including 132 gold, while Japan (205 medals) and South Korea (177) took the next two spots. Jakarta was a very fruitful Asiad for India as it finished with a record medal haul of 70 medals which included 16 gold. Expectations are high this time too with the Union Sports Minister Anurag Singh Thakur hoping for 100 medals and Indian Olympic Association President P.T. Usha — a medal machine herself at these Games in the mid-1980s — predicting a best-ever Asiad for the country.
With adequate government support, better facilities and many exposure trips abroad, India, with more than 650 athletes, does look strong. Athletics is the big hope once again. For the first time, India will go into an Asiad with an Olympic and World champion in javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, and his battle with Pakistan’s Worlds silver medallist Arshad Nadeem could be one of the highlights. Neeraj has made Indians believe that they could conquer the world and this could be the reason for three javelin throwers finishing among the top six at the Budapest Worlds where the Indian men’s 4x400m relay team also made history by finishing fifth and bettering its own Asian record. A few weeks ago, Jeswin Aldrin and M. Sreeshankar were the number one and two in this year’s world long jump list while triple jumper Praveen Chithravel was also on an impressive rung. But many of the Indian athletes did not live up to expectations in Budapest, and Hangzhou offers a chance for redemption. Hockey, where the Indian men and women’s teams are the Asiad’s highest ranked sides, offers hopes of bringing gold while cricket, where India is making its Asiad debut, shooting and badminton are among the sports that have raised hopes of a golden show.
From September 23 to October 8, the Asian Games 2023 will showcase the very best athletes of the continent and they will go for glory. In the span of 20 days, 655 Indian athletes will compete across 41 disciplines out of a total 61. The Asian Games has always been a mega event where Indians have excelled
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