Athletics: Neeraj Chopra the big favourite in javelin throw

Other gold medals are likely to come in the men’s 800m through national record holder Jinson Johnson and from Tajinder Pal Toor in the men’s shot put. The three mile relays — men, women and mixed — should also see India winning gold.

Neeraj Chopra shattered his own national record with a 87.43m throw at the Doha Diamond League in May.

India has won 71 gold medals in athletics in 17 editions of the Asian Games, with the inaugural competition in New Delhi in 1951 being the best outing, with 10 gold medals. The next best performance came at Bangkok 1978 and Busan 2002, India winning seven gold medals in each. And the most disappointing Games were the 1990 and 1994 editions in Beijing and Hiroshima, respectively, where India failed to win a single gold medal in athletics. The standout performance at the Games came in 1986, when P. T. Usha won four gold medals — including one in the relay — in a one-woman show.

At the 2014 Incheon Games, athletics was once again India’s most successful discipline, the country finishing with 13 medals — two gold, three silver and eight bronze.

This year, Commonwealth Games champion Neeraj Chopra is the big favourite to win the men’s javelin throw. Other gold medals are likely to come in the men’s 800m through national record holder Jinson Johnson and from Tajinder Pal Toor in the men’s shot put. The three mile relays — men, women and mixed — should also see India winning gold, but the country faces a tough challenge from Qatar in the men’s event.

ATHLETICS

Men: 200m: Muhammed Anas Yahiya 400m: Muhammed Anas Yahiya, Rajiv Arokia 800m: Jinson Johnson, Manjit Singh 1500m: Jinson Johnson, Manjit Singh 5000m: G Lakshmanan 10000m: G Lakshmanan 400m hurdles: Dharun Ayyasamy, Santosh Kumar 3000m Steeplechase: Naveen Kumar Dagar, Shankarlal Swami High Jump: Chetan B Long Jump: Sreeshankar Triple Jump: Arpinder Singh, Rakesh Babu Shot put: Tejinder Toor, Naveen Chikara Javelin Throw: Neeraj Chopra, Shivpal Singh 20km Race Walk: Manish Singh Rawat, Irfan KT 50km Race Walk: Sandeep Kumar 4x400m Relay: Muhammed Anas Yahiya, Jeevan KS, Jithu Baby, Kunhu Mohammed, Rajiv Arokia, Santosh Kumar Mix Relay: Muhammed Anas Yahiya, Rajiv Arokia, Hima Das, Poovamma

Women: 100m: Dutee Chand 200m: Hima Das, Dutee Chand 400m: Hima Das, Nirmala 800m: Tintu Luka 1500m: PU Chitra, Monika Chaudhary 5000m: Sanjivani Jadhav, L Surya 10000m: Sanjivani Jadhav, L Surya 400m hurdles: Juana Murmu, Anu Raghvan 3000m steeplechase: Sudha Singh, Chinta Yadav Long Jump: Nayana James, Neena Varakkil Pinto 20km Race Walk: Sowmya B, Khushbir Kaur Heptathalon: Swapna Barman, Purnima Hembram Discus Throw: Seema Poonia, Sandeep Kumari Hammer Throw: Sarita Singh Javelin Throw: Annu Rani 4x400m Relay: MR Poovamma, Saritaben Gaikwad, Sonia Vaishya, Vijayakumari, VK Vismaya, Jisna Matthew