Apart from cricket, 8 Indian gold medal contenders this time in Asian Games, see list

Expectations from Neeraj, Tajinderpal Singh

New Delhi (EMS). The Asian Games have started in Hangzhou. Even though China dominates these games, this time Indian athletes have also arrived fully prepared. India has many such athletes in various sports who are claiming the gold medal this time. In shot put, Tajinderpal Singh Toor is everyone’s favorite. At the same time, weightlifting and badminton players are also hoping for gold. The biggest possibility of gold is from Neeraj Chopra. If cricket is left out, then 8 Indians are contenders for the gold medal. We are talking about those players in this report.

Jyoti is India’s first and only Asian champion in the women’s 100 meters hurdles. She is also the first and only woman in the country to complete this race in less than 13 seconds. The 24-year-old is ranked second in Asia with a season’s best of 12.78 seconds, just 0.02 seconds behind China’s Yani Wu.

Mirabai Chanu, Olympic silver medalist and two-time Commonwealth Games champion, leads the women’s 49kg category. At least 7 athletes have crossed the coveted 90kg mark in snatch so far, but the 29-year-old from Manipur is yet to reach there. However, Mirabai would like to overcome this with her power of clean and jerk.

The world number 3 pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty (men’s doubles badminton) have been in tremendous form in the last 12 months. The aggressive-minded pair has won 4 titles this year after winning bronze medals in the Commonwealth Games and World Championships last year. He has also defeated high-ranking opponents during this period.

Mehuli Ghosh (10m Air Rifle Shooting) The 22-year-old from West Bengal has a Youth Olympics silver medal, a Commonwealth Games silver and 4 ISSF World Cup medals to her name. She recently won a bronze medal at the World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, sealing her place at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Mehuli will have to face world champion and top-ranked Han Jiayu of China in her category. His patience can get him a medal.

Apart from senior professionals like Asiad gold medalist Abhishek, youngsters like Ojas and Prathamesh can bring glory to the country at the world level. Chinese Taipei and ever-powerful Korea are their biggest threats, but considering the Indians’ recent form, they have to hope to finish first.

The Indian hockey women’s team, ranked 7th in the world rankings, is currently the strongest team in Asia. Japan, China and Korea are ranked 10th, 11th and 12th respectively. The team led by Savita Punia and supervised by Janneke Schopman will try to convert the silver achieved in Jakarta into gold.

Where chess has returned to the Asian Games after a long absence of 13 years. India has a young brigade like Gukesh, Praggnanand and Arjun, who are fast becoming big names in global chess. India’s own veteran Vishwanathan Anand also believes that this time the players will bring good results. The Indian men will face challenge from China who is led by defending world champion Ding Liren.
Nikhat has performed well in the flyweight category in the last 2 years and defended her World Championship title in New Delhi this year. He has also won 2 Strandja Memorial titles and a CWG Gold. She would also like to win a gold medal in the Asian Games. This will also ensure his place in the Paris Olympics.