After 14 days of enthralling action, the sporting events at the Asian Games 2023 drew to a close on October 7, 2023 with 107 medals to the Indian contingent’s name. There were numerous reasons for celebration, this time around. The Indian men's hockey team finished on top of the podium and the men's and women's cricket teams, too, walked away with gold medals. The likes of Neeraj Chopra and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty excelled and conquered the competition with brilliant displays. The 19th Asian Games saw many moments come to fore, both controversial and non-controversial. (Medal Tally | Cricket World Cup)
Here's a look back at four moments from the Asiad involving the Indian contingent, that will be hard to forget:
1) Neeraj Chopra-Kishore Jena Partnership
In the men's javelin throw event, India's Neeraj Chopra came into the contest as a favourite to clinch the gold medal. Neeraj, who was the defending champion at the Games, won the gold medal with a season-best throw of 88.88 meters, marking his second consecutive win at the Asian Games. However, Kishore Jena, who was also competing with Neeraj, clinched silver with a throw of 87.54 meters. The athletes got a 1-2 podium finish for India but the highlight of the evening was Neeraj feeling happy for Kishore's throw.
During a media interaction, Neeraj spoke about his on-field bonding with Kishore. "I was very happy that Jena qualified for the Olympics and that throw warmed up and pushed me to perform, because I was really put off after my first throw controversy (officials failed to measure Neeraj’s throw, offering him a re-take instead). When an athlete is focused and in his zone, incidents like this affect concentration a lot," said Neeraj.
2) Ramita Jindal Bags India's First Shooting Medal At The Games
The Indian shooting contingent started off its Asian Games 2023 campaign on a positive note when Ramita Jindal, on the brink of elimination, came back into the contest to clinch a bronze medal in the women's 10m air rifle final. The 19-year-old shot a total of 230.1 in the final as she finished behind China's Huang Yuting and Han Jiayu. With India crossing the 100-medal barrier at the Asian Games 2023, Ramita's first medal at the Games will be fondly remembered.
3) Jyothi Surekha Vennam And Ojas Deotale's Triple Gold Delight
Indian compound archers had a field day at this edition of the Asiad, as they won all five gold medals in the event. Jyothi Surekha Vennam and Ojas Deotale shone brightest, bagging three gold medals each. While the 27-year-old Jyothi is an established name and experienced in global archery, Ojas, 21, has sprung up in recent times and emerged as an exciting young talent to watch out for. Jyothi and Ojas combined to win the mixed doubles gold in Hangzhou, apart from winning their respective individual and team competitions to round off a flawless campaign.
4) Indian Men's Hockey Team Ends Medal Wait
Indian hockey's trials and tribulations finally came to fruition when it grabbed its fourth gold at the Asian Games with a thumping 5-1 win over Japan in the final. The Harmanpreet Singh-led India came into the event on the back of an Asian Champions Trophy title as they showed every bit of their title-winning ambition with a solid win in the final.
