Asian Games 2023: Indian medal prospects and their strongest opponents

While the Indian contingent will hope to better its performance of 16 gold, 23 silver and 31 bronze medals from five years ago in Indonesia, it will have to face some tough challenges to achieve that.

FILE PHOTO: Neeraj Chopra, Olympic champion in men’s javelin throw, will be one of India’s biggest medal hopes at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

The 19th edition of the Asian Games is set to be held in Hangzhou, China, from September 23 to October 8 this year.

While the Indian contingent will hope to better its performance of 16 gold, 23 silver and 31 bronze medals from five years ago in Indonesia, it will have to face some tough challenges in order to achieve that.

Here are five Indian medal hopefuls and their strongest opponents:

Neeraj Chopra and Arshad Nadeem (Men’s Javelin Throw)

FILE PHOTO: India’s Neeraj Chopra (left) is expected to face tough competition from Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem (right) at the upcoming Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. | Photo Credit: AFP

Neeraj Chopra will look to successfully defend his gold medal in Men’s Javelin Throw. The 25-year-old, who is also the reigning World and Olympic champion and Diamond League runner-up, had emerged victorious at the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia with a throw of 88.06m.

The Indian’s biggest competition this time will be Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, the reigning Commonwealth Games champion. Nadeem had won bronze in 2018 but has improved significantly since then.

At the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham last year, he became the first-ever athlete from South Asia to breach the 90m mark with his fifth-round throw of 90.18m. On the other hand, Neeraj’s personal best is 89.94m - achieved at the 2022 Stockholm Diamond League.

At the recently concluded World Championships in Budapest, Nadeem fell short of Neeraj’s gold medal-winning effort of 88.17m by 35cm.

However, it was only Nadeem’s second international competition since the Islamic Solidarity Games in August last year. He had to go to the UK for treatment of his injured elbow and knee joint. This season, he won the National Games title in Quetta with a throw of 78.33m.

India and Pakistan (Cricket)

India’s men’s cricket team is set to make its Asian Games debut and will be one of the favourites for the gold medal.

FILE PHOTO: Ruturaj Gaikwad will lead the Indian men’s cricket team at the Asian Games. | Photo Credit: KR DEEPAK/THE HINDU

The 15-member men’s team will be led by Ruturaj Gaikwad.

The women’s team led by Harmanpreet and Smriti Mandhana secured gold after beating Sri Lanka in the final. Harmanpreet Kaur missed two matches after being suspended by the International Cricket Council for her outburst in an ODI against Bangladesh.

The Indian men’s team will begin its campaign directly from the quarterfinal stage and are projected to face its toughest test in the gold medal match against Pakistan. In the men’s competition, Pakistan had won bronze in the 2010 edition. The sport was part of the continental event in 2010 and 2014.

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty and Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik (Badminton - Men’s Doubles)

While India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (second from right) and Chirag Shetty (right) did beat Aaron Chia (left) and Soh Wooi Yik (second from left) in the Indonesia Open final this year, the Malaysian pair still dominates the overall head-to-head record. | Photo Credit: AP

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty are World No. 2 in men’s doubles rankings. The duo has been in spectacular form since last year. They won the 2022 India Open before being part of the Indian squad that clinched its maiden Thomas Cup title.

The duo also clinched gold at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham before grabbing a historic bronze medal at the World Championships. They added one more title to their collection before the end of 2022 - their first-ever BWF World Super 750 title at the French Open.

This year, the pair has won Swiss Open, Indonesia Open, Korea Open and also the Asian Championships.

At the 2018 Asian Games, Satwik and Chirag had lost to South Korea’s Choi Sol-gyu and Kang Min-hyuk in the round of 16 but this time, the Indian pair will be expected to go all the way and win the gold medal. India’s best performance in men’s doubles at the Asian Games came at the 1982 edition in New Delhi where Leroy D’Sa and Pradeep Gandhe won bronze.

However, their biggest challenge for the gold medal will be the 2022 world champions Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik. The Malaysian pair has an 8-1 head-to-head advantage over the Indians. Satwik and Chirag have beaten them only once - in the 2023 Indonesia Open final - but overall, Chia and Soh have always proved to be tricky opponents for them.

Mirabai Chanu and Hou Zhihui (Weightlifting - women’s 49kg)

From left to right: Silver medalist Mirabai Chanu of India, gold medalist Zhihui Hou of China and bronze medalist Windy Cantika Aisah of Indonesia on the podium during the medal ceremony for the Weightlifting - Women’s 49kg Group A at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. | Photo Credit: GETTY IMAGES

Mirabai Chanu made her Asian Games debut in 2014 in Incheon and finished ninth in the women’s 48kg category. Since then, she has shown amazing growth. She has won two gold and one silver medal at the Commonwealth Games, a World Championship title in 2017, with her biggest achievement being the silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics.

She will be a medal contender at the Asian Games but yet again, her toughest opponent will be reigning Olympic champion and world record holder Hou Zhihui of China. In Tokyo, Zhihui had defeated Mirabai for gold by 8kg.

India and Malaysia (Men’s Hockey)

Malaysia (yellow jerseys) gave India a scare during the Asian Champions Trophy 2023 final in Chennai and the same can be expected at the upcoming Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. | Photo Credit: M VEDHAN/THE HINDU

The Indian men’s hockey team will look to put behind the disappointment of a bronze medal from Jakarta 2018 and win gold this time as the Asian Games winner is given direct entry into the Olympics.

Since the last Asian Games, the Indian team has done extremely winning. It ended the 41-year wait for an Olympic medal by winning bronze in Tokyo in 2021 before clinching silver at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham last year.

After a poor performance at the World Cup held at home earlier this year and with the change in coach - Graham Reid replaced by Craig Fulton - it has taken the team some time to adjust but it has found form at the right time.

The Indian team recently won its fourth Asian Champions Trophy title, beating Malaysia in the final in Chennai and a similar style of play will be expected at the continental event next month as well.

However, the ‘Speedy Tigers’ will be India’s biggest challenge at the continental event. In the 2018 edition, it was Malaysia who defeated India in the semifinals. Under coach Arul Anthoni, Malaysia has become a more aggressive side. It is ranked ninth in the world. It will also be looking to qualify for the Olympics for the first time since 2000.