It appeared a tad audacious but when the Indian contingent’s medals did cross that tally, it marked a substantial leap.
Three years ago, in the run-up to the Asian Games, promotional campaigns in India carried a catchy phrase: “Iss baar sau paar (this time over 100)”.
More than half of the 28 Indian gold medallists from Hangzhou, excluding team events and sports, will not be in Aichi-Nagoya. Athletics (29 medals, 6 gold), shooting (22, 7) and archery (9, 5) were the biggest drivers of the Indian medal rush in 2023, and India’s performance in 2026 will depend a lot on these disciplines again. The shooting squad has been through a churn since 2023, not leaving even the women’s 50m rifle 3P gold medallist with the then world record score, Sift Kaur Samra, untouched. The momentum of India’s compound archers in 2023 glided them to a historic gold sweep. The most crucial defence will be of the mixed team event, which will debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
That includes javelin throw holders , the only two individual women champion shooters and one half of the triumphant mixed compound team, archery’s new Olympic event. This rifle and pistol troop has a host of Asian Games debutants, perhaps India’s strongest women’s pistol teams ever – featuring two-time Paris Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker and 25m world record holder Esha Singh – and one of the most exciting young talents in pistol, Suruchi Singh. “This time, the number of golds should be higher. Only one, triple gold medallist Jyothi Surekha Vennam, from that sensational squad of six remains to defend the titles. With compound getting the Olympic tag, other Asian nations such as China and South Korea, traditional recurve dominators, have started to catch up in the discipline.
“In team events some medals are a sure bet for us, it’s just a question of colour,” said India’s rifle coach Deepali Deshpande.
