New Delhi: India stands at the 11th position on day 11 of the ongoing Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya in Japan, having won 47 medals, including 5 gold, 21 silver and 21 bronze medals. The 47 medals have been won by athletes in 13 different events.
China currently leads the medals tally, with 246 medals, including 139 gold, 60 silver and 47 bronze medals. Hosts Japan follows China with a total of 177 medals which include 43 gold. South Korea is in third place with a total of 95 medals, including 24 gold medals.
India’s best performance in Asian Games came in the inaugural edition in 1951 when the hosts finished at the second position, just behind Japan. Since then, India’s standing has gone down.
India’s medal tally has generally risen since the turn of the century, reaching a record 107 medals and fourth place in the 2022 Asian Games, held in 2023.
In the 2002 edition held in South Korea’s Busan, India finished 7th, with 36 medals, including 11 gold, 12 silver and 13 bronze medals. In the 2006 Asian Games held in Doha, Qatar, India’s overall tally improved to 52 medals (10 gold, 16 silver and 26 bronze medals), but its ranking slipped by once place to 8th.
Then came the 2010 Asian Games. It was held in Guangzhou, China. Here, India improved both its overall medials tally and ranking. Indian athletes won a total of 65 medals (14 gold, 17 silver and 34 bronze), and finished 6th.
In the 2014 edition held in Incheon, South Korea, India finished at the 8th place, with 57 medals that included 11 gold, 10 silver and 36 bronze.
Then in the 2018 Asian Games, which was held in Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia, India won a higher number of medals (69: 15 gold, 24 silver and 30 bronze), but it stayed at the 8th place.
India’s breakthrough performance in Asian Games this century came in the 2022 edition. In the games held in 2023 in Hangzhou, China. Indian athletes bagged 107 medals with 28 gold, 38 silver and 41 bronze. This was the first time India had crossed the 100 medals tally in the Asian Games. This helped India finish at the fourth position.
But, India is not on course to replicate the 2023 performance in the ongoing edition. In fact, the gap in India’s performance in the two editions is quite stark. By the 11th day of the ongoing Asian Games, India had won just 47 medals, about 44 percent of the total medal tally for the 2022 Asian Games.
The games run till 4 October, and India still has realistic chances of winning medals in hockey, boxing, cricket, archery among others.
But if India finishes their campaign with fewer than 52 medals (the number it won in the 2006 edition), it would be their lowest total since the 2002 Asian Games, when it won 36 medals.
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Athletics & shooting remain India’s strongest suits
As of 4 pm on 29 September, India’s tally stands at 47 medals, won in 13 different events. Out of this, 33 medals have come from athletics and shooting. Indian has bagged 19 medals in track and field, and 14 in shooting, that make about 70 percent of the total medals won.
This is not the first time that athletics and shooting have propelled India’s medals tally in Asian Games. In the 2022 Asian Games, athletics and shooting were India’s biggest medal contributors.
The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports said in its 2023-24 annual report that “athletics and shooting remained India’s strongest disciplines, contributing 29 and 22 medals, respectively” in the 2022 edition.
The other 11 sports where India has won medals till now are squash in which it has won three medals followed by kabaddi where it has won two gold medals. India has also won one medal each in badminton, kurash, cricket, mixed martial arts, rowing, table tennis, soft tennis, weightlifting and wushu.
India still has medal opportunities
With the games going on till 4th October, India still has opportunities to improve its medals tally.
According to the India specific schedule shared by Olympic.com, Indian athletes are left to compete in athletics, boxing, shooting, cricket, hockey, cycling and squash, among others.
Boxing remains one of India’s strongest potential sources of medals, with Indian boxers competing in the semi-finals and medal rounds.
On day 11 of the competition, Indian boxer Parveen Hooda (65kg) won her semi final bout, and was assured at least silver. As was Ankush Panghal (80kg) after winning his semi-final match.
Narender Berwal (+90kg), however, lost his semifinal to Kazakhstan’s Aibek Oralbay, and had to settle for bronze.
Neeru Dhanda won gold in the women’s individual trap shooting event on day 11, becoming the first Indian woman to win an individual Asian Games gold in trap shooting.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
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