Asian Games 2023: Hangzhou success mirrors the power of an aspirational generation

This edition of the Asian Games has been a massive eye-opener for the fact that medals have come from rather unexpected corners.

Parul Chaudhary’s sensational dash to win the 5,000 metres gold at Hanghzou was perhaps the most defining moment of India’s record showing at the Asian Games 2023. With less than 25 metres to go, the sinewy 28-year-old Meerut girl, a TTE (Travelling Ticket Examiner) with Northern Railways, suddenly found an extra burst of energy to leave Japan’s Ririka Hironaka in her wake.

After clinching silver, her maiden Asian Games medal, in the 3,000 metre steeplechase the previous day, a seemingly tired Parul trailed for most of this gruelling event that Ririka always had in control. But the tactical ploy to overtake the Japanese from the inside lane left spectators dumbfounded and TV experts ecstatic. Parul, they said, was a reflection of a “new India” where dreams are transforming into reality.

Our Medal Winners And Their Backstories

Parul’s story of grit, determination and a well-planned fightback very much sums up India’s stupendous show at Hangzhou 2023. These Games have exposed a slew of athletes whose ambition in life have been founded on three basic principles of success: clarity of purpose, growth mindset and courage.

Life is several times harder and complex for India’s Olympic sports athletes, who unlike IPL-playing cricketers, are not blessed with lucrative financial deals. For someone like Parul, a medal in the Asian Games or the Olympics means a massive life changer.

With just three hours of sleep the previous night, Parul’s last-ditch effort to win the 5,000 metre gold only underlined the power of the mind and the desperate motivation to transform her social status. If the Yogi Adityanath government sticks to its promise, Parul will become a DSP in UP Police.

Almost every new medal-winning athlete has a backstory that basically says that no odds are insurmountable and nothing is impossible. India’s top women hurdler Jyothi Yarraji, who won a silver at Hangzhou, grew up in a Vizag family with limited means. Her father works as a private security guard while her mother is a domestic help and a part-time cleaner at a city hospital. There are many such touching stories in the Indian camp.

Shot In The Arm For Talent Spotters

These Games have exposed the potential in India’s tier-2 and tier-3 cities. The results will also be a shot in the arm for the Sports Authority of India that runs various programmes to unearth and develop talent across the country. According to data available from SAI, at least 120 athletes out of the 655 representing the nation at Hangzhou, are under the Khelo India scholarship scheme. At least 21 of them, at the time of writing, have finished among medals and this number could increase when the Asian Games end on October 8.

On Day 11 of the Hangzhou Games on Wednesday, India broke its record of 70 medals garnered at Jakarta 2018. The medal rush started with the young world champion duo of Jyothi Surekha Vennam and Ojas Pravin Deotale striking gold in the compound archery mixed team event. The golden spree continued with Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra defending his Asian Games gold medal with a monster 88.88-metre throw but not before Odisha’s Kishore Jena gave the world champion a massive scare.

This was the first time that Chopra and Jena made it a rare one-two for India in a top international competition. If there is any sport after cricket that has grabbed the collective consciousness of Indian sports fans, it is javelin. Chopra is undoubtedly an icon, no less than a Sachin Tendulkar, Abhinav Bindra or Vishwanathan Anand. Chopra’s success has lifted the equity of Indian athletics.

From Hangzhou To Paris

The post-mortem of India’s performance after the Tokyo Olympics 2020 had revealed a lack of mental strength on big occasions as a prime reason for failure. This was particularly true for the shooting and archery contingents. In Hangzhou 2023, India has exposed a new generation of shooters, young and ambitious to the rigours of big-league competition.

Indian shooters signed off with a record 22 medals (seven gold, nine silver and six bronze). Their previous best was 14 in Doha 2006. The acid test for the likes of young Sift Kaur Samra (she chose shooting over MBBS), Rudrankksh Patil, Palak Gulia, Aishwary Tomar, Sarabjot Singh, Kynan Chenai et al will be at Paris 2024.

That nerves make the difference between win and loss was palpable when golfer Aditi Ashok lost the Asian Games gold despite going into the final round with a whopping seven-stroke lead. Although Aditi became the first Indian woman to win an Asian Games medal, her mental frailties left her high and dry in Tokyo 2020 too. Talking of nerves, Sutirtha and Ayhika Mukherjee demonstrated plenty of it when they stunned Chinese world champions Chen Meng and Yidi Wang en route to a first-ever bronze medal in women’s doubles table tennis.

This edition of the Asian Games has been a massive eye-opener for the fact that medals have come from rather unexpected corners. Neha Thakur’s silver in sailing, Eabad Ali’s bronze in windsurfing and a team gold medal in dressage, a popular category in equestrianism, have highlighted the fact that Indians have a penchant for niche sports and are capable of international success too.

India are eyeing a three-figure mark at Hangzhou. To finish among the top five in Asia is laudable but the real test lies in Paris next year. A double-digit show in France will be historic. The government is doing a lot through the Target Olympic Podium Scheme. More than 110 athletes from the TOPS programme are taking part in Hangzhou. Fifty percent have clinched a medal. Even if the Olympics are an entirely different ball game, the signs are really encouraging.

Soumitra Bose is a senior journalist and a research scholar. Views are personal, and do not represent the stand of this publication.