Page 18 - Asian Games

Asiad 2023: No training and proper rest, India football team face China

Set to play their opening match without any training session and proper rest after the last-minute announcement of the squad, India will be the clear underdogs against formidable China in their Asian Games group game here on Tuesday. India were able to stitch a rag-tag final squad only on Friday and the team left for China on Sunday, leaving no time for the players to even have a training session together. Moreover, two players -- defenders Konsam Chinglensana Singh and Lalchungnunga -- out of the 22 players picked will join later as their visas were not ready. The Indian contingent's chef de mission Bhupinder Singh Bajwa has, however, said that the duo will get their 'express visas' in a day or two and they will join the team. In any case, the duo will not be available for the Group A match against China on Tuesday and that will be a blow for India. Also head coach Igor Stimac said on Sunday that senior defender Sandesh Jhingan and talismanic striker Sunil Chhetri will not play the

Asiad 2023: India's athletics contingent, full schedule, streaming in India

At 68, the Indian athletics contingent for Hangzhou 2023 is the largest the nation has ever seen. Athletics has been the happy hunting ground for Indians at the Asian Games

Asiad 2023: How India fared in previous editions of the Asian Games

India have remained one of the best-performing countries at the Asian Games, finishing in the top 10 of the medals table in all editions except one

Asiad 2023: Akash Deep replaces injured Shivam Mavi in Indian cricket squad

Bengal pacer Akash Deep was on Saturday named as a replacement for injured Shivam Mavi in the Indian men's squad for the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou. Mavi is suffering from a back injury and is ruled out of the tournament, the BCCI said in a statement. The men's cricket competition will take place from September 28-October 8 in a T20 format. Meanwhile, the women's selection committee named Pooja Vastrakar as replacement for Anjali Sarvani. Vastrakar was a part of the standby list of players. Left-arm pacer Sarvani has been ruled out with a knee injury. The women's cricket competition will take place from September 19-28 in the T20 format. Indian men's squad Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rahul Tripathi, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar, Shivam Mavi, Shivam Dube, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Akash Deep. Standbyes: Yash Thakur, Sai Kishore, Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Hooda and S

Asiad 2023: A look at India's biggest medal prospects for Mission Hangzhou

India will be sending its biggest ever contingent of 655 athletes to the upcoming Asian Games in Hangzhou. The country will be vying for top honours across 39 sporting disciplines, including individual and team events. While 'Aab ki Baar, Sau Paar' (which translates to crossing 100 medals this time) has been the catchline, the fans and the sporting establishment would like to temper its expectations but with an eye to surpass the tally of 70 medals won in the previous edition in Jakarta and Palembang. The PTI looks at some of India's brightest medal prospects in the quadrennial extravaganza starting September 23. *ATHLETICS ======== Men's Javelin Throw: Neeraj Chopra The 25-year-old Olympic and world champion is the best bet for a gold in athletics. Having achieved legendry status, defending the gold he won in 2018 could be a cakewalk for Neeraj. Pakistan's World Championships silver medallist Arshad Nadeem, who claimed a bronze in the 2018 Asian Games, will be his main rival i

Asiad 2023: India's golden generation of squash ready for one last dance

Saurav Ghosal, Joshna Chinappa and Dipika Pallikal, synonymous with Indian squash over the past two decades, have unfinished business going into what could be their last appearance at the Asian Games. Ghosal and Joshna, who both turned 37 recently, will be featuring in their sixth Asian Games, a testament to their remarkable longevity in a physically demanding sport like squash. A week way from celebrating her 32nd birthday, Dipika will be entering her fourth and in all probability last Asian Games. The mother of two, who doesn't play singles anymore, will be eyeing a mixed doubles gold alongside Harinder Pal Sandhu in Hangzhou. Ghosal and Joshna too are in the twilight or their careers and Hangzhou could be their one final chance to add a singles gold to the rich medal count at the continental event, having won seven and four medals respectively since their maiden outing in 2002. Though the level at Asian Games is not as high as the Commonwealth Games, the job for Ghosal and Joshn

Asiad 2023: Watch out for the Indian 'Super moms' competing at Hangzhou

Returning to work after giving birth to a child is a difficult task but an increasing number of Indian athletes are now smashing stereotypes by continuing to compete. Perhaps the most well-known sporting moms in the country are legendary boxer Mary Kom and six-time Grand Slam winner Sania Mirza. PTI takes a look at the Indian mothers who will be competing at the Hangzhou Asian Games beginning on September 23. Dipika Pallikal (Squash) =============== The poster girl of Indian squash, Dipika Pallikal has been a consistent performer for the country. She paired up with Joshna Chinappa to win India's first Commonwealth Games gold medal in squash in the Glasgow edition of CWG in 2014. Her other accomplishments include several medals in World Championships, Commonwealth Games and Asian Games, besides becoming the first Indian woman to be ranked in the top 10. In October 2021, she and her husband Indian cricketer Dinesh Karthik were blessed with twin boys -- Kabir and Zian. A few months

Asiad 2023: Indian women's hockey coach says handling pressure will be key

Indian women's hockey coach Janneke Schopman believes handling pressure will be crucial for her team as it will enter the upcoming Asian Games as one of "favourites". "I believe the mindset the players have as individuals and as a team will make the difference. Can we perform under pressure and deal with the circumstances handed over to us? "We have talked about this over the past couple of months and what it means to not be the underdogs like we were in Tokyo but being the favourites," Schopman said on the latest episode of Hockey Te Charcha, a podcast series launched by Hockey India. "We have spoken about the expectations from this team. We have also addressed what dangers are out there that might cause distraction, and trip us up, and how we can deal with the same." The Dutch coach said if her team plays to its potential, it can win win the gold in Hangzhou and qualify directly for next year's Paris Olympics. "It is important to enjoy the journey as well. I hope we win; I think

Asiad 2023: Stimac says certain elements stopped us from having best team

India football team head coach Igor Stimac, on Sunday, lashed out at the Indian Super League (ISL) organisers Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) and clubs for not releasing players for the Asian Games as the national federation was forced to stitch an under-strength ragtag side at the last moment after hectic parleys. While Stimac did not take names while addressing a virtual press conference ahead of team departure but dropped enough hints about who all scuppered his and AIFF's plan to field a strong squad, comprising players from current senior national side. "If I knew that certain elements will stop us from going with the best possible team, I would have rather picked all the players from the I-League and request to train with them for two months and prepare with them for the Asian Games," a fuming Stimac said during media interaction. "It would not have been much different," he added, making clear what he thinks about the third-string players that ISL clubs have ...

Asiad 2023: Indian football team departs for Hangzhou without two players

Defenders Konsam Chinglensana Singh and Lalchungnunga did not accompany the Indian football team that left the country on Sunday for the Asian Games in China as their visa was not ready but a top IOA official said the duo will get their travel documents in a day or two. Chinglensana and Lalchungnunga were apparently not in the initial long list of 50 players submitted by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) for the Asian Games and hence they did get their accreditation even though they were named in the 22-member team named in the last minute. India's Asian Games contingent Chef de Mission Bhupinder Singh Bajwa allayed any fears of the two players missing out of the Asian Games. They will, however, not be available for the first match against China on Tuesday. "I and AIFF president (Kalyan Chaubey) have applied for express visa for the two players with letter from the sports ministry and the visa should come by tomorrow or day after. The Chinese embassy said normal visa will tak

Asiad 2023: India's bridge contingent, full schedule, streaming in India

The bridge competition of the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022 will be held from 27 September to 6 October 2023 at Hangzhou Qi-yuan (Zhili) Chess Hall

Asiad 2023: India's wrestling contingent, full schedule, streaming in India

The Indian wrestling contingent will be led by the World Championships and 2018 Asian Games medalist Bajarnag Punia in the men's category and young sensation Antim Panghal in the women's category

Asiad 2023: India's golf contingent, full schedule, live streamings details

Indian golf contingent at Hangzhou 2023, the strongest since the 2010 Asian Games, would look to get the nation among the medals which has been missing since the 2010 Asian Games

Asiad 2023: India cricket teams' full schedule, squads, match timings

Indian cricket teams will be participating for the first time in the cricket event at the Asian Games and are the hot favourites to win the gold medal

Asiad 2023: India's shooting contingent, full schedule and live streaming

Indian shooting contingent will be led by Manu Bhaker and Rudranksh Patil as they try and achieve better results from the Jakarta Asian Games. Shooting at the Hangzhou Asian Games begins on Sep 24

Asiad 2023: India hockey teams' full schedule, squads, match timings

The Indian hockey team would be aiming for nothing less than a gold in both the men's and women's categories as a spot at the Paris Olympics is up for grabs

Saga of sacrifices inspires Indian women hockey team for Asiad, Olympics

If one saw her mother working tirelessly for earning Rs 800 a month, the other endured the agony of being unemployed for almost a decade, while another learnt the game by playing with bamboo sticks. To Savita Punia, Neha Goyal and Nikki Pradhan hockey brought solace, and these Indian women's team players did not let personal turmoil affect their game. Also plenty of sacrifices were made during their journey to the top, making them hungrier for success. They had their 'Chak de' moment in the Tokyo Olympics where they missed a podium finish by a whisker, and now they are on a mission to realise an unfulfilled dream. The first step would be to secure direct qualification to the Paris Olympics through the upcoming Hangzhou Asian Games. They are not leaving any stone unturned, including giving up on their favourite food, in order to improve their willpower and fitness and win gold in Hangzhou. "We know that there are immense expectations from us post Tokyo Olympics and this team is cap

Asiad 2023: India football squad announced, Sunil Chhetri named captain

The Indian football governing body thanked clubs in the Indian Super League (ISL) and the FSDL for coordinating with the national body to release players in the Asian Games.

We have sent players list to AIFF for Asiad selection: East Bengal coach

East Bengal head coach Carles Cuadrat on Wednesday said that his club has sent a list of players to the All India Football Federation (AIFF) for the selection of the national team for the Hangzhou Asian Games. Most of the clubs had shown unwillingness to release the 22 players named in the Indian squad as the Asian Games' football competition schedule clashes with the ISL, which starts on September 21. We have respect for the national team and have sent them a list of players they can use. The clubs and federation (AIFF) must cooperate to do the best for the country," Cuadrat said during a press conference ahead of the ISL. "We have players in the U-23 and the senior team, and we support the national team. There is a list of East Bengal players who can take part in the Asian Games, he added. The Indian team is scheduled to begin its Asian Games campaign with a match against China on September 19, followed by games against Bangladesh (September 21) and Myanmar (September 24). The t

Asiad 2023: CM Naveen Patnaik announces Rs 10 lakh each for Odisha Athletes

The financial assistance has been announced to the athletes to support their training, preparation, and participation in the prestigious sporting event.