Published By: Ritayan Basu
Last Updated: September 19, 2023, 16:20 IST
Sports India May Win Gold Medals at Asian Games
Here are the events and sports in which India are being considered favourites to do well.
The 19th edition of the Asian Games is set to take place in Hangzhou, China. Indian athletes will have the nation watching them and will be expected to rope in medals after their outstanding performance in the last edition. India bagged 70 medals in the Asian Games 2018 held in Jakarta, with 16 of those being the gold medals. There are going to be some events in which the Indian fans will expect nothing less than a finish at the podium from the stars that are participating. India’s major objective of competing with the World and winning more at the Olympics will have to start with dominance in the Asiad.
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Here are some of the events of India’s interest and the athletes will be expected to finish at the top:
Men’s Hockey
The Men’s Hockey team is always expected to make the finals and shoot for the gold in the Asian games. In 2018, the Indian hockey team received a setback as they were defeated in the semi-finals by the Malaysian team and could only bag the bronze medal. But the team will be looking to correct the mistakes this time around with aim of securing a gold. India is ranked third in the world currently and the only other Asian team from in the top 10 is Malaysia. The Indian Men’s Hockey team will be the favourites to secure a podium finish in Hangzhou.
Men’s Cricket
Cricket is undoubtedly the most watched and played sport in India and finally, the game has been added as an event in the Asian Games. As India is one of the best sides in the world they will be entering as the favourites and nothing less than a finish at the top spot will be expected. Rituraj Gaikwad will be leading the second-string side of India in the Asian Games but they are not in any way lacking in talent. The team boasts of young stars who have played or are on the verge of playing for the national side.
Shooting
The Indian teams have had a rise in the number of medals they have won in shooting and will be expecting the same at the Asian games. At the recently concluded World Championships, two Indians won bronze medals while the 10m air pistol mixed team event saw a gold medal. In the last edition of the Asian Games, India stood third in the medal tally of the category with two gold medals, four silvers and three bronze medals. Indian fans will be expecting the same performance from the athletes and will be hoping for more finishes at the podium this year.
Boxing
India will be favourites entering the event with four different World Champions in the squad. Nikhat Zareen, Lovlina Borgohain, Deepak Bhoria and Nishant Dev are all reigning World Championship medallists. The last edition was a disappointment for India as only Amit Panghal won the gold medal and Vikas Krishnan won a bronze. No women boxer won a medal last time. India will be hoping for a better result this time around and add more medals to their tally in Hangzhou.
Men’s Kabaddi
The Indian Men’s Kabaddi team has always been among the favourites in the Asian Games. The Men’s team has won 7 Gold medals out of the 8 in the history of the Asian Games. They will be looking to bounce back from the loss they faced at the hands of Iran in Jakarta in 2018 as they settled for the first time for a silver medal. Indian fans will be expecting to finish at the top and reclaim the gold medal.
