[In Pictures] The Asian Games opening ceremony gets underway in Hangzhou, China
The 19th edition of the Asian Games commenced on September 23. Ahead of the inaugural contest, the opening ceremony is taking place in the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Stadium, also known as the Big Lotus. It brings together athletes from 45 countries, proudly holding their national flags as they walk the red carpet.
India, who have sent a record 655 athletes as part of their contingent, will field Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist Lovlina Borgohain and men's hockey captain Harmanpreet Singh as the leaders of their brigade. Both players will hope to lead their teams to gold and ensure a quota in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The official Instagram account of the Hangzhou Asian Games posted a video of the three mascots of the tournament, collectively known as 'Memories of Jiangnan', dancing in front of a capacity Chinese crowd. The post was captioned:
Let's enjoy the mascots dancing at the opening ceremony of the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou.
The official Indian hockey account on X (formerly Twitter) posted a video of Harmanpreet Singh's acknowledgement of the momentous occasion of leading India's contingent in the opening ceremony and his expression of gratitude for the opportunity.
India, on the back of a 70-medal haul last time in Jakarta, will look to breach the 100-medal mark this time around. The possibilities of such an occurrence are extremely probable, especially given the size of the Indian contingent and the performances delivered by athletes this year. India is also debuting their men's and women's cricket teams in the tournament.
The stadium was packed with a maximum capacity crowd of 80,000 people who thronged to the venue ahead of time to catch a glimpse of the ceremony.
Sportskeeda's official correspondent at the Asian Games captured a few vivid images of the stadium and the opening ceremony.
The moment all Indians were waiting for took place later in the day when Harmanpreet and Lovlina walked the carpet, heads held high with the Indian flag waving proudly.
Further videos posted on X (formerly Twitter) showed the Indian contingent, draped in brown sarees and kurtas, marching in an elegant formation.
Certain sports like table tennis, volleyball, and rowing had their first rounds on Friday, September 22. Sports like boxing, wushu, tennis, hockey, and cricket will get underway on Sunday, September 24th.
The Asian Games will conclude on October 8th followed by a closing ceremony.