Expectations are high after India crossed the elusive 100-medal mark for the first time at the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023, finishing fourth with a record 107 medals.
A total of 655 athletes competed, with nearly 50 per cent of them returning home with medals. For a country that hosted the first Asian Games in 1951, it was a poignant moment – a reminder of how far Indian sport had travelled.
This time, though, India’s contingent strength has been reduced by 23.21 per cent for the in Aichi-Nagoya, with the Sports Ministry taking a stringent approach to selecting athletes with medal potential.
A total of 501 athletes will compete in 259 medal events across 36 disciplines for 356 medals. Hence, getting anywhere close to the previous edition’s tally of 107 medals, let alone surpassing it, will require a monumental effort from Indian athletes.
With the Ministry sending the creme de la creme of Indian sport, hopes have nevertheless soared for a dazzling show.
After last edition’s historic gold medal in badminton, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will enter the field with renewed confidence following their China Masters title triumph. Badminton at the Asian Games, as many experts would argue, is tougher than at the Olympics. In this edition, India’s only gold medallists in badminton, Satwik and Chirag, will be under immense pressure. But they have aced pressure over more than a decade of partnership.
, the poster girl of Indian women’s singles, would hope to make this her last hurrah at the Asian Games. In women’s doubles, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand will be eager to build on their historic World Championships bronze medal.
Nothing can match athletics, shooting
But when it comes to the Asian Games, nothing can match the popularity of athletics and shooting. In Hangzhou, India won a staggering 29 and 22 medals in the two sports, respectively.
So, it is only natural for athletics, with 74 athletes – the most for any sport in India’s contingent – to shoulder a significant portion of India’s medal haul. In the previous edition, athletics produced India’s highest number of medals.
This year, with Tajinderpal Singh Toor chasing a hat-trick of gold medals in shot put, he will be the face of India’s campaign in the absence of javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, who ruled himself out of the Games due to an ankle tear.
Then there are others like Avinash Sable, back from a long injury layoff, who will defend his 3000m steeplechase gold; Tejaswin Shankar in the decathlon; Murali Sreeshankar in the men’s long jump; Gurindervir Singh in the men’s 100m sprint, the fastest man in Asia in 2026; Vishal TK in the men’s 400m; Jyothi Yarraji in the 100m hurdles; and Ancy Sojan in the women’s long jump.
The spotlight will also be on the shooters, especially after India’s historic medal haul in the last edition and ‘s double medal at the Paris Olympics. But Manu will not be India’s lone medal hope. India’s prospects will also be strengthened by the likes of Rahi Sarnobat, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, Anish Bhanwal, Tilottama Sen and Ashi Chouksey.
India’s medal hopes will be equally strong in boxing and archery. With Lovlina Borgohain, Preeti Pawar, Sakshi Chaudhary, Parveen Hooda and Priya Ghanghas leading the charge in women’s boxing, and Sachin Siwach and Ankush Panghal in the men’s section, India will look to better its five-medal haul from the 2023 edition.
In archery, India’s compound team will enter the field with high hopes of emulating their historic clean sweep of five gold medals. In women’s wrestling, the spotlight will be on Antim Panghal, while in the men’s division, in-form wrestler Sujeet Kalkal will be one of India’s biggest hopes.
Hockey teams should deliver
In team sports, hockey will nevertheless be the main attraction. With Los Angeles Olympics spots at stake, India’s men’s and women’s hockey teams must deliver.
The men’s team, despite a dismal eighth-place finish in the World Cup, should not face much trouble in their title defence given the lack of depth in the field, while the women’s team might face a steep challenge from China. But after their recent win over Snow Lotuses in the World Cup, the Indian women will enter the Asian Games as title favourites.
India will also be the gold-medal favourite in kabaddi, while cricket offers a strong chance of a double-gold medal haul, barring something bizarre on the day.
With India aggressively bidding for the 2036 Olympics and the 2038 Asian Games, its performance in Aichi-Nagoya will offer a clear sense of where the country stands in the continental pecking order after the peak of 2023 – and where course correction may be needed to shape its sporting future.