Year-end 2023: An Account of India’s Monumental Run at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou

At the 2023 Asian Games, the Indian team made history by becoming the first to break the 100-medal mark and finishing third.

India has created a golden chapter in its athletic history with a record-breaking 107 medals at the Asian Games in Hangzhou. They have also given themselves every cause to dream of an Olympic performance never seen before in Paris next year.

At the continental showcase, the group of 660 athletes won 28 gold, 38 silver, and 41 bronze medals.

Nine medals in archery, twenty-nine in athletics, twenty-two in shooting, two in badminton, five in boxing, one in bridge, one in canoeing, two in cricket, two in horseback riding, one in hockey, two in roller skating, five in rowing, three in sailing, one in sepak takraw, five in squash, one in table tennis, two in tennis, five in wrestling, one in wushu, and one in kabaddi were among the sports.

With this accomplishment, India’s performance in the Asian Games has advanced remarkably. India had won a meager 36 medals in the Asian Games in Busan only twenty years before, in 2002. But the country’s dedication to sports and its players has pushed progress forward over time. India’s medal total increased to 53 in the Doha Games of 2006, and it reached 65 in the Guangzhou Games of 2010. At the Incheon Asiad in 2014, India won 57 medals, however, there was a little decline.

Still, five years ago in Jakarta and Palembang, India had a glorious return, setting a new record with 70 medals, their best-ever result at the time.

With this historic accomplishment, India has won more than 100 medals in the Asian Games for the first time. It is a noteworthy achievement, especially in light of the fact that India was second only to Japan in 1951 when it hosted the first Asian Games in Delhi.

India’s fourth-place result in the Asian Games this year is also a major indication of growth, as it was the country’s third-best finish ever, after second and third places in 1951 and 1962, respectively.

Before the Games started, there were concerns among the Indian delegation and some IOC officials that India might surpass the record 100-medal threshold. However, to everyone’s amazement, medals began to arrive on the first day.

During this Asiad campaign, India achieved enormous advancements in a number of subjects. Throughout the Asian Games, India’s primary emphasis has been on the revival of the country’s new generation of athletes and shooters.

The largest number of medals—29 in shooting and 22 in athletics—accounted for over half of India’s total medal count and gold total.

With seven gold medals, shooting led the field; athletics came in second with six.

With seven gold, nine silver, and six bronze medals, the Indian shooting contingent sent a strong message to the other competitors as they struck the bullseye and achieved a record-breaking total of 29 medals.

With their outstanding exploits at the competitions, a number of shooters, including Sift Kaur Samra, Palak Gulia, Esha Singh, and Manu Bhaker, grabbed headlines.

But Aishwarya Pratap Singh Tomar’s name was the one that stood out the most.

With four medals, including gold in the men’s 10m air rifle and 50m rifle 3P team events, as well as silver and bronze in the individual 50m rifle 3P and 10m air rifle events, Aishwarya Pratap Singh Tomar became the most successful shooter from India at the Games.

This year, track and field athletes in India saw a new generation take center stage and bring home medals.

India’s first gold medals in their individual categories at the Games went to Avinash Sable (men’s 3000m steeplechase), Annu Rani (women’s javelin throw), and Parul Chaudhary (women’s 5000m). The men’s 4x400m relay team won the yellow metal for the first time in 61 years.

Archery was another athletic discipline that excelled and distinguished itself from the others.

Archery produced a remarkable improvement with nine medals, including five gold, compared to only two silver in the 2018 tournament. In all Asian Games editions, India’s archery display was the best.

In a thrilling display, India’s compound archers won every one of the five gold medals available. The two Indian compound archers, Jyothi Surekha Vennam and Ojas Pravin Deotale, each took home three gold medals, making them the most successful Indian athletes in any sport.

In addition, India earned its first medal in canoeing in 29 years, although e-sports, a recently introduced event, produced no medals.

India also made strides in the equestrian sport, as Sudipti Hajela, Divyakriti Singh, Vipul Hriday Chheda, and Anush Agarwalla won the first-ever dressage gold.

Subsequently, the anticipated leaders of Indian sports emerged, exceeding expectations and consistently taking home the trophies.

The whole team seems to have benefited from Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra’s worldwide prominence, and although he spearheaded the movement in athletics, there’s no disputing that the javelin specialist inspired sportsmen in other sports as well.

In a controversy-plagued javelin competition, Chopra went on to win an easy gold medal with his Indian colleague Kishore Jena, who took home the silver.

After winning the world championships in Delhi, boxer Lovlina Borgohain placed second in the Asiads but still won the silver medal for her country, India.

The Indian men’s hockey team won a well-deserved gold medal and qualified for the 2024 Olympics by dominating the competition. However, the Indian women’s hockey team lost the semifinal match 0–4 against the hosts, China and had to settle for a medal.

Further history was created in tennis when Rohan Bopanna and Rutuja Bhosale also took home the mixed doubles gold.

In addition, India won two additional gold medals in squash and swept the available gold medals in kabaddi and cricket.

Of course, there were setbacks along the road, the most significant of which was 65-kg wrestler Bajrang Punia’s lack of success on the mat; yet, these were just a few bitter notes in the remarkable tale of victory that the young Indian sportsmen had written.

The greater concern here is whether or not this achievement will provide the Indian delegation the impetus to advance to the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

India’s remarkable achievement in Hangzhou this year came after their greatest-ever medal haul in the Tokyo Olympics in 2020; based on that benchmark, the athletes from that nation could hope to win two gold medals in Paris in 2024. India’s incredible sporting journey should serve as an inspiration to others, and with sustained hard work and support, the country is poised to reach even higher heights in the sports world.