India sends 503 athletes to Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, chasing 2023's 107-medal high
India will field 503 athletes at the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, which run from 19 September to 4 October, as part of a 768-member contingent cleared by the Sports Ministry, according to The Bridge and the Indian Olympic Association. The delegation includes 246 coaches and support staff and 19 contingent officials, with weightlifter Sahdev Yadav serving as chef de mission.
The squad was given a formal send-off in New Delhi on Tuesday, 8 September, at an event attended by Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and IOA president P T Usha, Khel Now reported.
Who is going
The Bridge reported that athletics has the largest group at 79, increased from the 73 initially approved, with 20 coaches and 31 support staff under coach P Radhakrishnan. Hockey has a 40-member group covering the men's and women's teams, badminton 20, boxing 11 and surfing four, while mixed martial arts has a single entrant. Shooting is led by Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker and weightlifting by Mirabai Chanu.
Both cricket teams are travelling to defend the gold medals won at Hangzhou in 2023. VVS Laxman is in charge of the men's side, which includes Shreyas Iyer and teenager Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, and Amol Muzumdar of the women's team, according to The Bridge and The Sunday Guardian. Pullela Gopichand leads the badminton group, which includes P V Sindhu. Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala is the contingent's chief medical officer.
The most notable absence is javelin star Neeraj Chopra, who is out injured, The Bridge reported.
The target
India's 107 medals at Hangzhou, including 28 golds, was its best Asian Games performance, and the contingent has been set the task of building on it. Speaking at the send-off, Mandaviya said "there is no shortage of talent in this country" and that the challenge was to "change the pressure into performance", Khel Now reported. Usha told the athletes: "Do not be overwhelmed by the occasion; make the occasion remember you."
Judoka Asmita Dey, one of the athletes on a panel at the event, said the Asian Games were "very tough" and that she would have to "prepare like never before" to win a medal.
The bigger picture
The Ministry had originally cleared 492 athletes in 35 disciplines before additional names, mainly in athletics, were added. The Aichi-Nagoya Games are the first Asian Games in Japan since Hiroshima in 1994 and come two years before the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, making them an important checkpoint for India's Olympic preparations.
What happens next
The bulk of the contingent departs for Japan over the coming week, with the opening ceremony on 19 September. The cricket competitions and several team sports begin early in the programme, while athletics, where India won 29 medals in 2023, is scheduled for the second week.