Hangzhou: The Indian contingent has made a remarkable start at the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou, China, winning 55 medals so far, including 12 gold, 18 silver and 25 bronze. India is currently fourth in the overall medal table, behind China, Japan, and South Korea. India had won 70 medals at the previous edition of the Asian Games in Jakarta in 2018 and is aiming to surpass that mark this time.
The first medal for India came on September 24, when the women’s shooting team of Mehuli Ghosh, Ramita, and Aashi Chowksey clinched the silver medal in the 10m air rifle team event. Since then, the Indian shooters have added nine more medals to their tally, including three golds. Aishwarya Pratap Singh Tomar was part of two gold-winning teams – the men’s 10m air rifle team and the men’s 50m rifle three positions team. He also won a bronze medal in the men’s 10m air rifle individual event. Manu Bhaker, Isha Singh, and Rhythm Sangwan won the gold medal in the women’s 25m pistol team event.
The Indian rowers also impressed with their performance, winning five medals – one gold and four silver. The gold medal came from the mixed team of Hriday Chheda, Divyakriti Singh, Anush Agarwal, and Sudipti Hajela in the equestrian event. The silver medals were won by Arjun Lal Jat and Arvind Singh in the men’s lightweight double sculls, Lekh Ram and Babu Lal Yadav in the men’s pair, the men’s eight team and the men’s quadruple sculls team.
The Indian athletes have also been dominant in the track and field events, winning nine medals so far, including two golds. Avinash Sable was in a league of his own as he won the men’s 3000m steeplechase with a new Asian Games record of 8:13.22. He also won a silver medal in the men’s 5000m event. Neeraj Chopra defended his title in the men’s javelin throw with a throw of 88.36m, which was also a new Asian Games record. Other medal winners from athletics include Ajay Kumar Saroj (silver in men’s 1500m), Seema Punia (bronze in women’s discus throw), Jyothi Yarraji (bronze in women’s 100m hurdles), Amlan Borgohain (bronze in men’s 200m), Annu Rani (bronze in women’s javelin throw), Swapna Barman (bronze in women’s heptathlon) and Harmilan Bains (bronze in women’s 800m).
The Indian cricket teams made history by winning gold medals in their debut appearance at the Asian Games. The women’s team defeated Sri Lanka by 19 runs in a rain-affected final, while the men’s team beat Bangladesh by seven wickets in a thrilling encounter.
The Indian sailors also added two medals to their kitty – a silver and a bronze. Neha Thakur won the silver medal in the girls’ dinghy ILCA4 event with a net score of 27 points after 11 races. Ibad Ali won the bronze medal in the men’s windsurfer RS X event with a net score of 52 points.
The Indian speed skaters also made their mark by winning two bronze medals in the mixed relay events. The women’s team of Heeral Sadhu, Kartika Jagadeeswaran, and Aarathy Kasturi Raj finished third in the 3000m relay final, while the men’s team of Akash Aradhya, Vishwaraj Jadeja and Harshveer Singh Sekhon did the same in their event.
Other medal winners for India include Priyanka Goswami (silver in women’s 20km race walk), Vikash Singh (silver in men’s 20km race walk), Adarsh Singh, Anish Bhanwala and Vijayveer Sidhu (bronze in men’s 25m rapid fire pistol team event), Ramita Jindal (bronze in women’s 10m air rifle individual event), Jaswinder Singh, Bhim Singh, Puneet and Ashish Kumar (bronze in men’s coxless four), Satnam Parminder Jakar and Sukhmeet (bronze in men’s quadruple sculls) and Manju Rani (bronze in mixed team 35km race walk).
China leads the overall medal tally with 200 medals, including 105 golds. Japan is second with 99 medals, including 27 golds. South Korea is third with 102 medals, including 26 golds. The Asian Games 2023 will conclude on October 8.
