Asian Games 2018: Shooters to open India's account on Day 1

The Indian shooters, one of the most sought after as well as the most promising contingent for any multi sporting event, shall open the account for India as Day 1 of Jakarta Asian Games goes underway officially on 19 August.

At 8:30 in the morning, according to Indonesian time [7:00 a.m. according to Indian time], trap shooters Shreyasi Singh and Seema Tomar, followed by their male compatriots, Lakshay and Manavjit Singh Sandhu, shall open India's challenge in the trap shooting event at the Jakabaring International Shooting Range, situated in Palembang, the other city hosting the Asian Games along with Jakarta.

The event shall be followed by the qualification round for the mixed pairs of 10m. air rifle and 10m. air pistol respectively. This shall be the most sought after for India, as the star shooters Manu Bhaker and Apurvi Chandela, along with their male partners Abhishek Verma and Ravi Kumar respectively, will present the Indian challenge in this event.

This shall be followed soon enough by the Indian men's badminton team, who shall begin their journey in Asiad badminton with their opening match against a relatively weaker Maldives. The Indian team, who hasn't climbed the podium for 32 years, shall aim to end that jinx with this edition. They shall be followed by the legendary Indian men's kabaddi team, who shall aim for an 8th consecutive Asiad gold in this edition.

Asian Games 2018, Day 1 : Dattu Baban Bhokanal to lead the Indian challenge in rowing

The team shall be followed by the Indian rowers, who shall stake India's challenge in rowing. Leading the team would be Olympian Dattu Baban Bhokanal, who missed a chance to create history at Rio 2016 by a whisker, when he got eliminated in the quarter-finals. He would represent India in men's single sculls, followed by Om Prakash and Sukhmeet Singh, who shall represent India in men's double sculls.

The team shall be followed by the Indian swimmers, who shall stake the Indian challenge in the swimming event. Leading the trio is Saurabh Sangvekar, who shall contest in the Men's 200m. Freestyle, followed by national champion and Olympian Sajan Prakash, who shall stake claim in the Men's 200m. Butterfly event. He shall be followed up by young sensation and CWG semifinalist Srihari Nataraj, who shall stake the Indian claim in Men's 100m. backstroke.

The swimmers shall be followed by the women's basketball team, who shall compete in their next pool match against the might of Chinese Taipei. Team India, who've already lost to Kazakhstan, shall try their best to defeat Chinese Taipei and at least stay in contention for the knockouts.

Following them would be the Indian tennis team, who shall stake the Indian challenge in the absence of biggies like Leander Paes, Sania Mirza etc. The team shall participate in the preliminaries of Men's and Women's Singles respectively, apart from the preliminaries of mixed doubles.

Asian Games Day 1 : Bajrang and Sushil to spearhead Indian challenge in wrestling

Following them will be one of the star attractions of these Games: the Indian wrestlers. Opening the challenge for the day would be Indian wrestler Sandeep Tomar, who shall compete in the Men's 57 kg. freestyle category. Following him would be star wrestler, Bajrang Punia, who shall look forward to emulate his mentor, Yogeshwar Dutt's legendary win at the Asian Games 2018.

Bajrang shall be followed by the legendary wrestler Sushil Kumar, who has made a comeback to the Asiad arena after 12 long years. He would like nothing less than a strong podium finish in order to be considered a potential bet for the podium at Tokyo Olympics 2020.

Seasoned wrestler Mausam Khatri, who announced his comeback on the mat with an impressive silver from Gold Coast CWG 2018 in the Men's 97 kg. category, too will be in action. One of the select few wrestlers to have clinched a bronze medal for India at the Asian Games 2010 edition, Mausam would love to change the colour of his medal by this edition and mark himself as a potential bet for Tokyo Olympics 2020.

The wrestlers shall be followed by the women's handball team, who shall compete against China in the final league match. India, having already been knocked out of contention for the medals, will try their level best to salvage their reputation in this last match.

Asian Games 2018, Day 1 : Indian eves aim to start their hockey campaign with a bang against Indonesia

The day shall be brought to a close as the Indian women's hockey team begins their campaign against the host Indonesia. Upbeat with a historic quarter-final finish at the FIH Women's Hockey World Cup, the Indian eves would like nothing better than a historic gold medal from this edition.

Following is a summarized timeline from the schedule [all as per Indian time]:-

1. 6:30 a.m. onwards - Shooting [Qualifications - Men's Trap and Women's Trap]
2. 7:30 a.m. onwards - Kabaddi [Women's Preliminaries - INDIA vs. Japan]
3. 7:30 a.m. onwards - Taekwondo [Preliminaries - Men's and Women's Poomsae [Individual and Team]]
4. 8:00 a.m. onwards:- Lawn Tennis [Preliminaries - Men's Singles, Women's Singles and Mixed Doubles]
5. 8:00 a.m. onwards:- Shooting [Qualifications - Mixed Pair 10 m. Air Rifle and Mixed Pair 10 m. Air Pistol]
6. 8:00 a.m. onwards:- Fencing [Qualifications:- Women's Epee Individual]
7. 8:00 a.m. onwards:- Swimming [Heats:- Men's 200 m. Freestyle, Men's 200 m. Butterfly, Men's 100 m. Backstroke]
8. 9:00 a.m. onwards:- Wushu [Preliminaries - Women's Tajiquan]
9. 9:00 a.m. onwards:- Basketball [Women's Preliminaries - INDIA vs. China]
10. 9:00 a.m. onwards - Rowing [Heats - Men and Women [All categories]]
11. 9:00 a.m. onwards:- Volleyball [Preliminaries - Women's Team]
12. 9:30 a.m. onwards:- Sepak Takraw [Preliminaries - Men's and Women's Team Regu]
13. 12:00 p.m. onwards:- Shooting [Finals - 10 m. Air Rifle Mixed Team]
14. 12:00 p.m. onwards:- Wrestling [Preliminaries, Quarterfinals and Semifinals - Men's Freestyle [57 kg., 65 kg., 74 kg., 86 kg., 97 kg.]]
15. 1:00 p.m. onwards:- Badminton [Men's Team Preliminaries - INDIA vs. Maldives]
16. 3:00 p.m. onwards:- Handball [Women's Team Preliminaries - India vs. China]
17. 3:20 p.m. onwards:- Shooting [Finals - 10 m. Air Pistol Mixed Team]
18. 5:20 p.m. onwards:- Kabaddi [Men's Team Preliminaries - INDIA vs. Sri Lanka]
19. 5:30 p.m. onwards:- Wushu [Preliminaries - Men's Sanda 70 kg.]
20. 6:00p.m. onwards:- Wrestling [Medal Playoffs:- Men's Freestyle [57 kg., 65 kg., 74 kg., 86 kg., 97 kg.]]
21. 7:00 p.m. onwards:- Field Hockey [Women's Team Preliminaries - INDIA vs. Indonesia]