Asian Games 2023 saw India create history with a record haul of 107 medals in Hangzhou, consisting of 28 gold, 38 silver and 41 bronze. India crossed their previous tally of 70 medals with ease, and also went past the century mark on the final day. Due to such dominant displays, the pressure has increased on India’s athletes for the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics.
In shooting, India’s dominance continued as shooters from the country also set new records. The Indian shooting contingent went past its previous Asiad best of 14 medals, bagging 22 in Hangzhou. Archery and badminton also saw India bring in medals. Meanwhile, the cricket and kabaddi teams bagged gold in their respective categories. The men’s kabaddi final between India and Iran saw plenty of controversy in the final minute which halted the match for a lengthy period.
In javelin throw, we saw Neeraj Chopra manage to win gold, which was also helped by the absence of rival Arshad Nadeem from Pakistan. Meanwhile, India’s Kishore Kumar Jena got silver in the event. The Indian men’s 4×400 athletics relay team, who broke the Asian record at the World Championships this year, came out on top, taking the lead very early in the race. Meanwhile, defending champion Tajinderpal Singh Toor reclaimed his title on the last throw, with a huge 20.36m effort to clinch gold, ahead of Saudi Arabia’s Mohamed Daouda Tolo (20.18m). He also became the fourth Indian to win back-to-back golds at the Asian Games.
Here is list of some of India’s Asian Games record-breakers and where they stand in comparison to all-time greats:
1. 10m Air Rifle Team Men
The Indian men’s 10m air rifle team bagged India’s first gold in Hangzhou. Consisting of Rudrankksh Balasaheb Patil, Divyansh Singh Panwar, and Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, the team shot a total of 1893.7 points during the individual qualification round, 0.4 points more than the previous world record score set by China in last month’s World Championships in Baku. They also broke China’s Asian record (1887.4) and Games record (1886.4).
2. Sift Kaur Samra
In women’s 50m rifle 3 position individual event, SIft Kaur Samra smashed the world record with a score of 469.6. Great Britain’s Seonaid McIntosh of Great Britain was the previous world record holder with 467 points. Meanwhile, she also broke the Asian (463.3) and Games record (458.8), held by China’s Chang Jing and Mongolia’s Gankhuyag Nandinzaya previously.
3. 50m Rifle 3P Team Men
Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, Swapnil Kusale and Akhil Sheoran claimed gold in the men’s 3P rifle team event. The trio reached a cumulative 1769 points to break the world record, eight more than the previous one set by United Stages in 2022 at the CAT championships.
4. Avinash Sable
The great Indian runner blitzed to a gold medal in the men’s 3000m steeplechase final. En route to his gold, he also broke the previous Games record held by Iran’s Hossein Keyhani. Sable clocked 8:19:50, beating Hossein’s 8:22:79. Such was Sable dominance, that second-placed Japan’s Ryoma Aoki clocked 8:23:75. Sable is still a long way from the Asian or world record in this event. They were set by Qatar’s Saif Saaeed Shaheen in 2004, in Brussels. He clocked 7:53:63.
5. Palak Gulia
17-year-old sensation Palak Gulia created history in the 10m air pistol women final, setting a new Games record with a total of 242.1 and also grabbed gold. The previous record holder was China’s Qian Wang, who registered 240.3 in the 2018 edition in Jakarta. In this event, the Asian record is held by Japan’s Yukari Konishi, who bagged 245.3 in Japan in 2017. Meanwhile, the world record is held by Serbia’s Zorana Arunovic, who scored 246.9 in 2017 in Maribor.
