Asian Games has been a platform where a number of Indian athletes have done very well in this continental Games. Just like the Commonwealth Games. The 2023 edition of these Games will be held in China and it will start from the 23rd of September which is a month away. This time the target is 100+ medals
Let’s look at the Top 10 Best Performances at Asian Games 2023:
1) Neeraj Chopra
Neeraj Chopra is the toast of India and has been for quite some time and his greatness started in 2018. The Asian Games in 2018 was a huge step for Neeraj as he won the Gold medal in the Javelin Throw event. He was the best in the Commonwealth that year and with a throw of 88.06 meters he conquered the continent. He will look to replicate the same performance in 2023.
Also Read | Best Neeraj Chopra Performances
2) Women’s 4*400 Relay
At the 10th Asian Games in Seoul the women’s 4*400 event was dominated by India and they set an Asian Games record. The quartet of PT Usha, MD Valsamma, Vandana Roy and Shiny Abraham set a Games record of 3:34:58. And in 2018, India won the Gold medal in this event as well and in 2023, India will look to do more of the same.
3) PT Usha
This is the second time that PT Usha is on this list but this time she is here for her individual performances. PT Usha has been the greatest female track and field athlete for India and one of the Top 3 of all time. Every Indian Sports fan knows who PT Usha is. At the 1986 Asian Games she was on a rampage as she won 4 Gold Medals out of the 5 events which she competed in. These included 200M, 400M, 400M Hurdies and the Women’s 4*400 Relay.
4) Kabaddi
This is the sport where India has won 7 Gold Medals ever since it was first introduced in 1990. It means that except in the last Asian Games in 2018 where India lost out in the semi final, they have won the Gold medal in all the other editions. In the last decade a lot more teams have emerged as strong Kabbadi teams and it will not be easy to win it again this time.
5) Saurav Ghoshal
He is the only Individual medalist from India In this sport in Asian Games history. And this came in the 2018 edition of the Asian Games where he beat the 2018 Commonwealth Champion to win a historical bronze medal for India. He is in much better form this time around and he will be looking to upgrade the color of his medal.
6) Milkha Singh
Any list will be incomplete without the mention of Milkha Singh and it is the track and field athletes who have won the most medals for India at the Asian Games. Milkha Singh was very early on the star for India. In the 1958 Asian Games he won 2 Gold Medals in the 200M and the 400M editions. Then he followed it up in the 1962 edition 400M and 4*400M relay.
7) Hima Das
The 2018 Asian Games saw the rise of many talented athletes. One of the most promising was Hima Das who won a slew of medals at the 2018 Asian Games 5 years ago. She was one of the youngest stars from India. She won 2 Gold Medals which were in the Women’s 4*400M and the mixed 4*400M relay events and a silver in the 400M race.
8) Sachin Nag
Swimming is a sport that Indians have not done well in. Be it the Olympics or the Asian Games and the medals are few and far between. So, when Sachin Nag won the Gold medal at the 1951 Asian Games in Delhi it has to be on this list of the Top 10 best performances. Sachin Nag made India proud and showed that swimming is also a sport. He won the medal in the 100M Freestyle event.
9) Seema Punia
Seema Punia has been the best female discuss thrower In India for decades. She had been competing for 2 decades before the 2014 Asian Games arrived. This time she was determined to win the Gold medal and she won it by throwing a distance of 61.03M and that was the only Gold medal for India in athletics in 2014. She followed this with a bronze medal at the 2018 edition.
10) Yogeshwar Dutt
Wrestling has been a sport where India have done well be it the Olympics or the Asian Games or the Commonwealth Games. India had to wait 28 Years for a Gold medal at the Asian Games in wrestling. It was Yogeshwar Dutt who ended that drought as he won the Gold medal at the 65 KG Freestyle category at the 2014 Asian Games. He won the match 10-0. After him there have been quite a few winners at the Asian Games.
