Asian Games: Can India better its 107-medal haul?

India, with a population of 1.4 billion, has a rich legacy of success in science, technology, finance, and space tech, but its sporting achievements have long lagged behind smaller populations. A turning point occurred at the Asian Games in Hangzhou three years ago, where India set a new benchmark with a record 107 medals - 28 gold, 38 silver, and 41 bronze.

The nation has since made steady progress, ending the previous Asian Games in Incheon 2014 with 57 medals, and at Jakarta 2018 with 69 medals.However, the Hangzhou campaign was followed by a setback when ace athlete Neeraj Chopra was unable to compete due to injury, replaced by Yashvir Singh. Additionally, several top archers who excelled in Hangzhou, including Atanu Das and Abhishek Verma, were unable to qualify for the Tokyo Games.

Despite these challenges, India possesses several rising talents who could potentially deliver another surge of medals in the upcoming 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.Some of these promising athletes include double Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker, who has a strong chance of winning gold in the women's 25m pistol team event. Other notable contenders include Aman Sehrawat, who won bronze in freestyle wrestling at the 2022 Asian Games, and Mirabai Chanu, who secured a silver medal in the women's 49kg category at the 2023 Asian Games.

Archery fans can also look forward to Dhiraj Bommadevara's performance in the men's recurve team event, and Esha Singh, who earned prominence in Hangzhou with four medals in shooting.Despite the absence of some key players, India remains confident of achieving another strong performance in the 2026 Asian Games, given the emergence of new medal contenders who are truly world-class.