Asian Games 2018: Will India Improve Upon Its 2014 Performance?
Asian Games 2018: Will India Improve Upon Its 2014 Performance? Will India be able to improve upon its performance of the 2014 Asian Games by sending a strong contingent of over 600 athletes and athletes for the upcoming 18th Asian Games starting on Saturday and will continue till September 2. In the 2014 Asian Games held at Incheon, South Korea, India won a total of 57 medals, including 11 gold and 10 silver. In the last edition, the size of the Indian contingent was 541 and its athletes participated in 28 sports. In the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia, the Indian contingent will participate in a total of 36 sports disciplines namely Archery, Athletics, Badminton, Basketball, Boxing, Bowling, Canoe-Kayak (Sprint), Canoe-Kayak (Slalom), Cycling, Equestrian, Fencing, Gymnastics, Golf, Handball, Hockey, Judo, Kabaddi, Karate, Kurash, Pencak Silat, Roller Skating, Rowing, Sailing, Sambo, Sepaktakraw, Shooting, Squash, Aquatics - Swimming, Aquatics - Diving, Tennis, Taekwondo, Triathlon, Soft Tennis, Table Tennis, Volleyball, Weightlifting, Wrestling and Wushu. Track and field will have the highest number of representation with 52 athletes. Thrower Neeraj Chopra will be the flag bearer. In the last Asian Games, India won a double in Kabaddi, getting gold medals both in men and women sections while in Hockey, India had gold in men's section and bronze in women's section. Earlier in June 2018, the IOA had submitted a provisional list to the Sports Ministry that consisted of 2370 athletes and officials combined. However, the final list has now been pruned down further to 524 members. Eight new sports disciplines have been added to India's participation list and these include Karate, Kurash, Pencak Silat, Roller Skating, Sambo, Sepaktakraw, Triathlon and Soft Tennis. Congratulating the Indian athletes, Mr Rajeev Mehta, Secretary General, IOA said, “I would like to wish all members of the Indian contingent the very best for the 18th Asian Games to be held at Jakarta Palembang 2018. The contingent has been selected keeping in mind the Indian Olympic Association's long-term vision of preparing and encouraging the most deserving athletes for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics based on them attaining qualification criteria." -PTC NEWS
