Asian Games 2018: India's probable medal contenders
The 18th Asian Games, the biggest multi-sport event after the Olympic Games, scheduled from 18th August to 2nd September 2018 is being hosted by the island nation, Indonesia. This is the first time that the Asian Games will be co-hosted in two cities: Jakarta and Palembang. A total of 45 nations will participate in 465 events.
India has always been a tough competitor to other nations in the Asian Games. 572 Indian athletes, participating in 36 sports, would hope to increase the medal tally for their country in comparison to the 2014 Asian Games held in South Korea, where India bagged 57 medals; 11 Gold, 9 Silver, 37 Bronze.
Though Indians would be hoping to win a medal in every event and will fight hard for the same, there are some events where they are the outright favourites to finish on the podium. As the action is set to begin, here are the 6 games where Indians will be confident to win a medal are:
#1 Kabaddi
India has always dominated Kabaddi. Be it the Kabaddi World Cup or the Asian Games, the men's Kabaddi team has won it all and so nothing less than a gold is expected from the men's team.
India have won the Kabaddi gold at every Asian Games since it was included in 1990, held in China. Even the women's team won the gold medal in both editions after the sport was introduced for women in 2010. Expecting a gold medal from the men's and women's Kabaddi teams would not be a big ask for them.
#2 Badminton
World Championship Silver medallist PV Sindhu would have a lot of pressure to win a Gold medal in this Asiad. There would be a lot on the shoulders of Sindhu. She would hope to defeat the mighty Japanese and win a medal.
The 2012 Olympic Bronze medallist Saina Nehwal will also be a prominent contender to win a medal at the Asiad. The 28-year-old has never won a singles medal in the Asian Games. Though she is not in a great form and the performance has not been consistent lately, with her experience and stature she can never be ignored.
The CWG Silver medallist Kidambi Srikanth would be the only hope for a medal in men's singles, besides them. But the ace shuttler will have to face a stiff competition from the Japanese, Chinese and Indonesian players.