12 reasons why Asian Games 2023 could become a watershed year in Indian sports

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty won the men’s badminton doubles gold at the Asian Games 2023. (File)

The 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, may go down in Indian sporting history as the tournament that changed everything, that mark where the tide turned—with 107 medals, this is India’s best-ever performance at the Asiad, breaching the previous high of 70 in 2018 by a significant distance; the 28 gold medals among the 107 is the best-ever haul of gold, a dozen more than in 2018; and the fourth-place finish, behind the Asian giants China, Japan, and South Korea, the best since 1962 (for context, that was before the rise of China as a sporting power, and with 17 nations in the fray as compared to 41 this year.)

Behind those numbers, there were some incredible performances—many sports where we have not won medals for decades—or ever—were conquered, like Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty’s gold in badminton men’s doubles, a first for India; unlikely winners came surging into the limelight, like the late kick by Parul Chaudhary to win the 5000m women’s race, also a first for India; some disciplines were dominated with absolute authority, like the men’s javelin throw, where Neeraj Chopra and Kishore Jena decimated the field with world-class distances; and some were won with claws out, digging in for dear life, like the women’s hockey bronze. Here is a look back at some of the most memorable performances:

The first medal

It seems like not-so-recent history, a cool morning at the Fuyang Water Sports Centre in Hangzhou to begin the first day of the 2023 Asian Games, where Arjun Lal Jat and Arvind Singh gave a glimpse of things to come with an unexpected medal, the first silver in 16 years in the Men’s Lightweight Double Sculls. More rowing medals, the best ever from Indian rowers at the Asian Games, followed, as did medals from the shooting range where Ramita, Mehuli Ghosh and Ashi Chouksey opened India’s account with a silver in the women’s 10m Air Rifle Team event, before teenager Namita bagged the bronze in the individual event.

The 100th Medal

In a rather symbolic way, India’s 100th medal came in a sport that is quintessentially Indian—Kabaddi—and it was a gold. The Indian women’s team, led from the front by Ritu Negi, played out a thrilling, pulsating match against Chinese Taipei, where each team constantly stayed abreast of the other—the final scoreline read 25-26 in India’s favour, bringing home the gold that was lost in 2018 in Jakarta.

A few hours later, the men’s team repeated the fight to beat Iran—the team that had shocked India to a final loss in 2018—to take the gold.

The 107th Medal

The Indian women’s chess team of D. Harika, R. Vaishali, and Vantika Agrawal swept their matches against South Korea to bring home the team silver behind China and end the proceedings for India at the Asian Game, minutes after the Indian men’s chess team of Vidit, Arjun and Harikrishna P. won the silver.

Asian Games performance that would be a medal at the Olympics

Neeraj Chopra & Kishore Jena: How can this list not start with Neeraj Chopra? His 88.88m Asian Games gold-winning throw was better than his Tokyo Olympics gold medal-winning effort (87.58), better than the London Olympics gold mark, or the 2004 Athens Olympics gold. The real surprise here is Odisha’s Jena, who, till last year, was hovering under 80m as his personal best, but has emerged as a force this year. Jena’s Asiad silver-winning throw of 87.54 would have got him the silver in Tokyo, bronze in Rio 2016, gold in London 2012, silver in 2008 Beijing and gold in 2004 Athens. What matters, of course, is what either of these throwers will pull off at Paris 2024.

Also read: Asian Games 2023 Day 11 winners

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy & Chirag Shetty: Winning the men’s badminton doubles gold at the Asian Games, which the duo popularly known as Sat-Chi did on the final day of the competition, may just be more difficult than winning it at the Olympics, because the world’s top 10 teams are all from Asia, except Denmark at No.7. Satwik and Chirag smashed their way through the field, losing only one game in the five matches they played, including the dominating, straight sets victory in the final. The Indian pair will now take the top spot in badminton’s world rankings and they may just go to Paris as the pair to beat.

Antim Panghal: The 18-year-old rising star of Indian wrestling has had a whirlwind year, going from a few tournaments at the junior level last year to every possible big-ticket senior event this year. The Asian Games bronze, on her debut, came this year after a second consecutive U20 world title, a silver at the Asian Championship on debut and a bronze at the world championship on debut. Why is an Asian Games bronze important in the context of the Olympics? Because a raw Panghal is already good enough to win against just about everyone in the category. At the Asian Games, Panghal was beaten only by Japan’s wondergirl and reigning double world champion Akari Fujinami, who has now gone an unbelievable 128 matches without defeat. In all her other bouts, Panghal toyed with her opponents. It was Fujinami, who else, who beat Panghal at the 2023 Asian Championship final too. What are the chances that these two will meet again in the final in Paris?

Antim Panghal (Photo via X / @Media_SAI)

Murali Sreeshankar: The long jumper from Kerala won a silver in Hangzhou with a 8.19m jump, not a distance that would have gotten him a medal at any of the past four Olympic Games except for a silver in London 2012. But that distance is competitive. It’s just a few millimetres short of medal-winning jumps at the Olympics. And Sreeshankar has done better. His personal best, 8.41m, would have been good enough for a gold in Tokyo 2020, Rio 2016, London 2012 and Beijing 2008. The trick is to pull off that distance on the big stage. Sreeshankar has had to struggle with the reputation that his 8m-plus jumps were only reserved for home conditions, and on the big stage, that distance became elusive. Sreeshankar is now beginning to show that his mind and body hold up in marquee events too.

Sift Samra: In the 50m Rifle 3 Position, a gruelling event that India hasn't been good at, the young Samra blazed to the gold with a world record score. It was also the first individual gold in any rifle event in Asian Games history for India. Samra did all this in her first major event. A world record score would obviously get her an Olympic gold, but shooting has the reputation of being highly unpredictable, and all about the performance on the day.

Indian Men’s hockey team: The team that never took their foot off the pedal. Hammering 68 goals in seven games and conceding just 7, swamping the minnows with a flood of goals, but also tearing through the tough teams with ease, as they did in their 5-3 victory against South Korea in the semifinal and 5-1 triumph against defending champions Japan in the final. With this, India have left no doubt that they are a cut above the Asian competition, and they have booked their place for Paris.

An Asian Games record

The only Asian Games record by an Indian at Hangzhou came from the indefatigable Avinash Sable in the 3000m Steeplechase. His 8:19.50 seconds run broke the previous record of 8:22.79 by a good margin, and also got India its first ever gold in the men’s event. Sable followed that up with a silver in the 5000m.

A sensational victory

Sable’s training partner and 5000m national record holder Parul Chaudhary grabbed the silver in the women’s 3000m steeplechase, but really brought the stadium alive in the 5000m race, where she trailed Japan’s Ririka Hironaka for the entirety of the race before accelerating past her in the last 30m with a brilliant, tactical burst of speed.

Most unexpected win

That accolade, hands down, goes to the pair of Ayhika Mukherjee and Sutirtha Mukherjee, for beating China’s world champions Chen Meng and Wang Yidi in a stunning upset in table tennis women’s doubles. The Mukherjees then went on to win the first medal for India in the women’s doubles, a bronze.

Those who did not find their feet

Boxing: The men’s boxing squad came back empty-handed, as they did in Tokyo in 2021. Unlike the women, India’s male boxers are struggling to make their presence felt on the international stage. But even for the women boxers, there was disappointment—reigning double world champion Nikhat Zareen will rue her bronze as a missed chance, and even world champion Lovlina Borgohain will be thinking about why she was blanked out by Li Qian in the Asian Games final, the same Chinese boxer she had fought with such panache and beaten at the world championships this year.

Wrestling: With the country’s best wrestlers embroiled in protests against the former chief of India’s wrestling federation, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who stands accused of sexual harassment and molestation, for the better part of the year, Indian wrestling has been in shambles. No federation, no national camps, no exposure tours, no international coaches. The result is four bronze medals and a silver, which is not too bad, but only under the circumstances.