Asian Games 2018: IOA announces 524-member contingent

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on Tuesday announced the 524-member contingent for the upcoming 18th Asian Games.

The contingent features 277 men and 247 women athletes from a total of 36 sports disciplines namely Archery, Athletics, Badminton, Basketball, Boxing, Bowling, Canoe-Kayak (Sprint), Canoe-Kayak (Slalom), Cycling, Equestrian, Fencing, Gymnastics, Golf, Handball, Hockey, Judo, Kabaddi, Karate, Kurash, Pencak Silat, Roller Skating, Rowing, Sailing, Sambo, Sepaktakraw, Shooting, Squash, Aquatics - Swimming, Aquatics - Diving, Tennis, Taekwondo, Triathlon, Soft Tennis, Table Tennis, Volleyball, Weightlifting, Wrestling and Wushu.

Athletics will have the highest number of representation with a total of 52 members participating.

Rajeev Mehta, Secretary General of the IOA, congratulated the selected players and wished them well for the upcoming tournament.

"I would like to wish all the 524 members of the Indian contingent the very best for the 18th Asian Games to be held at Jakarta Palembang 2018," Mehta said.

"The contingent has been selected keeping in mind the Indian Olympic Association's long-term vision of preparing and encouraging the most deserving athletes for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics based on them attaining qualification criteria," he added.

In June 2018, the IOA had submitted a provisional list to the Sports Ministry which consisted a total of 2,370 athletes and officials combined. However, the final list has now been pruned down further to 524 members, which includes the most deserving athletes who have attained the qualification criteria in their respective disciplines.

In the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, the Indian contingent featured a total of 541 athletes spread across 28 disciplines. Eight new sports disciplines have been added to the contingent where the country has shown promise, namely Karate, Kurash, Pencak Silat, Roller Skating, Sambo, Sepaktakraw, Triathlon and Soft Tennis.

The 2018 Asian Games is slated to be held at Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia from August 18 to September 2.