India’s campaign at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games was a story of two halves – with the first one suffering a long drought before the gold rush came as the mega event entered its final phase.
Cricket, hockey and kabaddi were always tipped to bring gold, but the real difference-maker turned out to be a sport where the country had historically under-achieved at the Asian and world level – archery.
Who would have predicted that the relatively young Indian squad would put it across Korea, the reigning deity in the sport for decades. Compound archery has been India’s stronger suit for some time, but the way recurve archers performed and put it across the Koreans – boasting several Olympic champions in their squad – was a heartening development. And who would have said with any confidence going into the Games that Pranavi Urs, a name unknown to all but the small band who follow Indian golf regularly, would reign supreme at the continental level!
India had been stuck at four gold medals at the Games for what seemed like an eternity. Instances of competitors faltering at the end after leading the field for a long period made the feeling worse. What was more concerning was that three of the four golds won till then were in sports with a limited field – kabaddi and women’s cricket – where India were like the big fish in a small pond.
But once the deluge started, it continued as if sportspersons in one discipline were gaining inspiration from others before passing it on. As a result, even if the Indian contingent didn’t match the haul at Hangzhou 2023 – 107 medals with 28 gold – they have largely defied the doomsday predictions going around at the midpoint of the Games.
A big reason for the despondency earlier in the Games was that the two sports which often contribute the most to India’s gold tally at the Asiad – shooting and athletics – had underperformed big time in this edition.
Athletics, which brought six gold medals last time, was down to just one – the women’s 4x400m relay won on the last day of track and field competition, though the heartening fact was a number of Indians posting their personal bests and some bettering the national records in their events.
Vithya Ramraj, who ran the anchor leg in the 4x400m relay, broke PT Usha’s national mark in the 400m hurdles, a standard that had been unbreachable for 42 years. Gulveer Singh, India’s best as far as distance-running is concerned, ran four races in five days and came home with three medals – two silver and a bronze – to set a benchmark in endurance and determination. Parul Chaudhary’s bronze medals in the 3,000m steeplechase and 5,000m were also noteworthy achievements.
Shooting had won as many as seven gold in Hangzhou, but the number went down to three this time. Manu Bhaker, a double Olympic medallist at Paris 2024, underwhelmed and it was left to Neeru Dhanda to make up for the deficit to an extent with her two gold medals in trap.
Badminton has often punched above its weight for India at the international level. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty memorably won the men’s doubles gold medal last time, but fell at the first hurdle in Japan and India had to be content with just a bronze medal this time. Boxing and wrestling had drawn a blank in terms of gold at Hangzhou but made their presence felt this time. Boxers came up with three gold and the grapplers also contributed significantly to the gold tally.
Bane of Indian sport
In the first half of the Asiad, when the gold drought seemed unending, the narrative being built is probably the biggest reason India lags behind sporting powerhouses such as China.
That self-congratulatory narrative can be encapsulated in two words – Medal Assured. When gold medals were proving elusive, this was a means to manufacture an artificial feel-good factor about the Indian performance at Aichi-Nagoya. If one celebrates second- and third-place finishes, it gives an impression that one is satisfied with being on one of the two lower steps of the podium. In the cut-throat world of professional sport, it’s often said that a silver won is a gold lost. Even if that seems a bit too hard-nosed, one needs to remember that even if winning isn’t everything, wanting to win is.
In the Indian context, the maxim is often modified to ‘wanting to win a medal’. There’s a reason China sits heads and shoulders above all other nations in the Asian Games medal tally. The number of gold medals they have won is greater than their silver and bronze combined. Clearly, they are targeting only the top step of the podium, because the medal table is arranged according to gold medals won. It’s only when the number of gold won by two countries is the same does the other medals come into the equation. That’s why they have won more than twice the number of gold medals taken by hosts Japan. For China, only being the best will do. It’s no wonder that when the gold medals started pouring in for India over the last few days, the disproportionate celebration of silver and bronze also died down.
Behind the curve
It’s a bit concerning to note that despite setting national records in many events, Indian athletes were nowhere close to the best in the continent. So, while the improvement in standards is a positive trend, the distance behind the best in Asia, and also the world, remains substantial.
At one point in the Games, India found itself behind much smaller countries, even Iran – which has been involved in a war since February.
The Indian sports eco-system isn’t lacking in funds these days, at least for those considered medal prospects on major stages. The government spends a lot of money on their preparation, training and exposure, while there are now quite a few private agencies and sponsors who have come in to provide support. There aren’t many excuses left for underperformance. It all now boils down to proper management, the hard work and determination of the sportspersons concerned, and the vagaries of the big day.
The 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, for which quite a few Indians have booked their tickets at this Asian Games, is the big target now. India didn’t win a gold at Paris 2024, coming back with one silver and five bronze medals to be placed 71st in the medal table. A similar return two years from now will not be good enough for the most populous country in the world.