India’s medal tally breaches 100-mark @ Asiad

Breaking all its previous records, India surpassed the 100-medals mark at the Asian Games 2023. It bagged107 medals, including 28 gold, 38 silvers and 41 bronze. India set a new benchmark for itself at the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou, the People’s Republic of China.

For the first time in Asian Games, India’s medals tally crossed the three-figure mark. It became the only fourth country after China, Japan and the Republic of Korea to win 100 or more medals in a single edition of the Asian Games.

India had sent 655 athletes to compete in 41 disciplines at the Asian Games 2023 held from September 19 to October 8. It was India’s largest representation at the Asian Games.

At the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia, India had sent 570 athletes and returned with 70 medals, including a haul of 16 gold medals.

The shooting stars

Indian shooters won seven gold medals and accounted for the most gold medals for the country at Hangzhou 2023. Four of the seven gold medals for India in shooting at the Asian Games 2023 came with world records.

The Indian men’s 10m air rifle team of former world champion RudrankkshPatil along with Olympians AishwaryPratap Singh Tomar and Divyansh Singh Panwar struck gold in the 10m air rifle with a world record of 1893.7.

AishwaryPratap Singh Tomar was also part of the gold medal-winning men’s team in the 50m rifle 3 positions. That gold also came with a world record of 1769. 

Manu Bhaker combined with Esha Singh and Rhythm Sangwan for gold in the 25m pistol with a junior world record of 1759 while Sift Kaur Samra smashed the world record in the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions with a huge score of 469.6 points.

The 17-year-old PalakGulia won the gold in the women’s 10m air pistol with an Asian Games record of 242.1. 

On the track

Athletics turned out to be the most productive sport for India at the Asian Games 2023 with a total of 29 medals – six gold, 14 silver and nine bronze. Athletics at the Asian Games 2023 saw Indian track and field stars rewrite three national records.

VithyaRamraj equalled the legendary PT Usha’s national record in the women’s 400m hurdles after almost four decades. She topped the heats but settled for bronze in the final.

VithyaRamraj was also part of the mixed 4x400m relay team that included Muhammad Ajmal, Rajesh Ramesh and SubhaVenkatesan. The Indian quarter won the silver medal.

In the men’s decathlon, Tejaswin Shankar won silver with 7666 points to reset a 12-year-old national record. 

Avinash Sable, meanwhile, set an Asian Games record in men’s 3000m steeplechase for gold. Parul Chaudhary in the women’s 5000m race and Annu Rani in the women’s javelin throw also claimed significant milestones for India in athletics. It was the first time that India topped the podium in these three events at the Asian Games.

Aiming right

India broke records of achievements in archery as well. Indian archers, led by JyothiSurekhaVennam and OjasPravinDeotale, won nine medals in archery at the Asian Games 2023. 

The nine medals won by Indian archers include five gold. India’s previous best was one gold, one silver and one bronze from Incheon 2014. In fact, India had won only 10 medals in archery in the previous 18 editions of the Asian Games. 

AditiGopichand Swami broke the Asian Games record twice in the women’s compound archery competition which was equalled by JyothiSurekhaVennam later in the competition.

Plunging into success

Though Indian swimmers did not win any medals, they reset six national records in swimming at the Asian Games 2023.

Five national swimming records were broken in relay competitions while one came through Olympian SrihariNataraj in the individual in the men’s 200m freestyle.

Cycling glory

In cycling, the Indian men’s sprint team of YanglemRojit Singh, David Beckham Elkatohchoongo, Ronaldo Singh Laitonjam and EsowAlben clocked 44.609 for a national record but could not make it to the medal rounds.

Smashing hurdles

The men’s doubles pair of Chirag Shetty and SatwiksairajRankireddy claimed India’s maiden gold medal in badminton. The men’s and women’s Indian cricket teams also won their first gold medals in the Asian Games on their tournament debuts.

Age no bar

Meanwhile, SanjanaBathula became the youngest Indian to win a medal at the Asian Games after she won the bronze in the women’s speed skating 3000m relay event. She was 15 years, three months and 11 days old when she won the medal.

Jaggy Shivdasani became the oldest Indian to win an Asian Games medal at 65 years, seven months and 20 days. He was part of the men’s bridge team that won the silver medal in Hangzhou.

Asian Games ’23: Records set by India 

• Tejaswin Shankar – national record in men’s decathlon (7666 points)
• VithyaRamraj – equalled national record in women’s 400m hurdles (55.42s)
• VithyaRamraj, Muhammad Ajmal, Rajesh Ramesh and SubhaVenkatesan – national record in mixed 4x400m relay (3:14.34)
• Avinash Sable – Asian Games record in men’s 3000m steeplechase (8:19:53)
• Sift Kaur Samra – world record in women’s 50m rifle 3 positions final (469.6 points)
• Sift Kaur Samra – Asian Games record in women’s 50m rifle 3 positions qualification (594)
• RudrankkshPatil, AishwaryPratap Singh Tomar and Divyansh Singh – world record in men’s 10m air rifle team (1893.7)
• AishwaryPratap Singh Tomar, SwapnilKusale and AkhilSheoran – world record in men’s 50m rifle 3 positions team (1769)
• AishwaryPratap Singh Tomar – Asian Games record in 50m rifle 3 positions men’s qualification (591)
• Manu Bhaker, Esha Singh and Rhythm Sangwan – junior world record in women’s 25m pistol (1759) 
• PalakGulia – Asian Games record in women’s 10m air pistol (242.1)
• KynanChenai, Zoravar Singh Sandhu and PrithvirajToindaman – Asian Games record in men’s trap team (361)
• Sarabjot Singh, Divya TS – Asian Games record in 10m air pistol mixed team qualification (577)
• SrihariNataraj – national record in men’s 200m freestyle (1:49.05)
• SrihariNataraj, Tanish George Mathew, Vishal Grewal and AnandShylaja  – national record in men’s 4x100m freestyle (3:21.22) 
• Aryan Nehra, AneeshGowda, KushagraRawat and Tanish George Mathew – national record in men’s 4x200m freestyle (7:29.04)
• SrihariNataraj, SP Likith, Sajan Prakash, Tanish George Matthew – national record in men’s 4x100m medley (3:40.20)
• Maana Patel, DhinidhiDesinghu, JanhviChoudhary and ShivangiSarma – national record in women’s 4x100m freestyle (3:53.80)
• DhinidhiDesinghu, ShivangiSarma, Vritti Agarwal and HashikaRamachandra – national record in women’s 4x200m freestyle (8:37.58)
• Men’s sprint team (YanglemRojit Singh, David Beckham Elkatohchoongo, Ronaldo Singh Laitonjam and EsowAlben) – national record (44.609)
• AditiGopichand Swami – Asian Games record in women’s compound archery (149) 
• JyothiSurekhaVennam – equalled the Asian Games record in women’s compound archery (149)
• OjasPravinDeotale – Asian Games record in men’s individual compound archery (150-7x)
• OjasPravinDeotale and JyothiSurekhaVennam – Asian Games record in mixed team compound ranking round (1413)
• OjasPravinDeotale and JyothiSurekhaVennam – Asian Games record in mixed team compound match – 159

(Inputs and data source from Olympics.com)