Asian Games 2023 Athletics: 5 Indians who can win gold in track & field events

India has won a total of 672 medals across all sports and editions of the Asian Games and a whopping 254 of them have come in Athletics. A total of 65 Indians have been selected for Athletics at this year's Asian Games which are to be held in Hangzhou, China and looking at the record, they are also the best bets for medals. Here are five Indian Track and Field athletes who can win gold this time round:

Jeswin Aldrin and Murali Sreeshankar

The Indian duo are 3rd and 4th respectively in 2023, both of them hitting the 8.4-meter mark earlier this year. No other Asian has bettered their score in 2023 and they would be looking to redeem themselves from their dismal showing at the World Championships in Budapest. Murali Sreeshankar, the silver medallist from the Commonwealth games last year will be looking to finally add that elusive gold for himself at the international stage. Chances of a possible double podium finish look bright but the goal for both the athletes would be to bring home the gold.

Tajinderpal Singh Toor

The Asian record holder shot putter has been laid low with a string of injuries since the 2018 Asian Games where he won gold but he has shown good form in 2023. After winning gold at the Asian Indoor and Asian Championships in 2023, the 28-year-old would be eager to defend his Asian Games title. His throw of 21.77m is more than a meter ahead of the next best Asian i.e. Bahrain’s Abdelrahman Mahmoud. If Toor manages to defend his title in Hangzhou, he will become the fourth Indian shot putter to achieve such a feat.

Jyothi Yarraji

Jyothi Yarraji is fast becoming a track and field star. She first broke 100m hurdles national record early in 2022 and has since gone on to break that record multiple times. Her time of 12.78 seconds in the 100m hurdles is the second fastest by an Asian in 2023, just a mere 0.02 seconds behind China’s Yanni Wu. She won gold at the 2023 Asian Athletics Championships and would be eager to replicate the same in Hangzhou. The 24-year-old will also be seen in action in the 200-metre race where her time of 23.13 seconds is the third fastest by an Asian in 2023.

Swapna Barman

Swapna Barman is the defending champion in Heptathlon from the 2018 Asian Games. She is second best Asian in 2023 with a score of 5840, only behind Uzbekistan’s Ekaterina Voronina. She secured a silver while suffering from a spine injury at the Asian Athletics Championships held in Bangkok. Despite this heroic feat, she has expressed that her main goal is to defend her Asian Games gold.

Neeraj Chopra

The reigning Olympic champion and recently crowned World champion is the favourite to defend his title from Jakarta. Neeraj's throw of 88.77m is just about a meter ahead of the next best Asian in 2023 which is Arshad Nadeem from Pakistan, who would also be his closest competitor. Neeraj has medalled in all events he has competed in this year and would be eager to cap a stunning season with another gold.