India has had a gala of a time in the Asian Games being held in Hangzhou, China with 71 medals to their name till October 4 (9 AM). The Indians have been fantastic with their approach and managed to make a name for themselves.
India's sportspersons have proved to the world how they can not just hold their own, but also dominate proceedings along with the best of the business.
At the moment, China lead the medals tally with 160 golds to their name and a total of 295 medals whereas Japan and South Korea are second and third with 33 and 32 golds respectively. India are fourth at the moment with 16 golds in their kitty.
They have 26 silver and 29 bronze medals, which means that their tally has increased to 70. They can very well hit the hundred-medal tally if their showing continues the way it has so far. A lot of Indian sportspersons still have their events to come, and they will be keen on making it count at Asia's biggest stage.
Cricket seems to be one of India's best bets for winning another gold. While the women's team hafter already done so by beating Sri Lanka in the gold medal match, the men's team have only just started their campaign.
They beat Nepal in the quarter-finals on October 3 and will be waiting for their opponents in the semi-finals, to be played on October 6. The final- the gold medal game, so to speak- will take place on October 7.
The Men in Blue have a very good chance of picking the gold medal primarily because of the strengths in their ranks and also because no other nation has fielded a team as good as they have.
India's chances look bright in archery
Archery is an event where India can hope to bag seven medals in total. Jyothi Surekha, Abhishek Verma, and Ojas Deotale are already assured of medals. Verma and Deotale take each other on in the gold medal game to be played on October 7 in the compound men's individual event. On October 4, Jyothi and Ojas clinched gold in the compound mixed-team event after defeating Korea.
Hockey can also give the nation two medals. Bridge, or contract bridge, which made its debut in the 2018 Asian Games, can be India's hope for another medal this time. It needs to be remembered that the Indian bridge contingent won one gold and two bronze medals back then.
Chess and hockey are two events where India have the hopes of winning a total of four combined medals- two in each. In chess, both the men's and women's teams will play in their round six events on October 4.
While there have already been several medal winners in athletics, India's golden boy Neeraj Chopra will be the one to watch out for in the finals of the Javelin throw. He will be eyeing for a gold medal when he takes the field on October 4.
In hockey, India's men's team will take on South Korea whereas the women's team will take on China in their corresponding semifinals on October 4 and 5 respectively.
Badminton is another sport where India can hope to amass quite a few medals. PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth are India's best hopes in the men's and women's singles events respectively. Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, meanwhile, will look to go for glory in the women's and men's doubles events respectively.
Lovlina Borgohain has a chance of winning gold for India in boxing on October 4 when she takes on Li Qian of China in the women's 66-75kg final. Parveen Hooda, meanwhile, will be playing in her semifinal against Lin Tu Ying of Taipei on the same day.
India can hope to get four medals in wrestling, given how well their athletes have fared so far. Vikas is already in the semifinals of the men's Greco-Roman 77kg event whereas Neeraj, Gyanendar, and Sunil Kumar are in their respective quarter-finals.
India play semifinals in men's doubles, mixed doubles, and men's singles in squash on October 4. In the latter event, Saurav Ghosal will be up against Chi Hin Leung of Hong Kong. India can very well expect medals from all three events.