As many as 524 Indian athletes to compete for medals in Asian Games
New Delhi, July 4: The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on Tuesday announced a 524-member contingent of athletes for the upcoming Asian Games, in which they will compete for medals in 36 disciplines.
Notably, Asian Games is scheduled to be held in Indonesia from August 18 to September 2 this year. A 524-member Indian contingent comprises of 277 men and 247 women athletes. Indian athletes this year have the highest number of representation with 52 eyeing for medals.
However, eight new sports including Karate, Kurash, Pencak Silat, Roller Skating, Sambo, Sepaktakraw, Triathlon and Soft Tennis have been added where the athletes of the country have shown promising performance.
The other disciplines in which Indian athletes will take part comprises of Archery, Athletics, Badminton, Basketball, Boxing, Bowling, Canoe-Kayak (Sprint), Canoe-Kayak (Slalom), Cycling, Equestrian, Fencing, Gymnastics, Golf, Handball, Hockey, Judo, Kabaddi, Karate, Kurash, Pencak Silat, Roller Skating, Rowing, Sailing, Sambo, Sepaktakraw, Shooting, Squash, Aquatics - Swimming, Aquatics - Diving, Tennis, Taekwondo, Triathlon, Soft Tennis, Table Tennis, Volleyball, Weightlifting, Wrestling and Wushu.
Unfortunately, the men and women football teams will not compete in the tournament as they are ineligible under the existing criteria set by the Olympic body. The Indian Olympic Association secretary general Rajeev Mehta said, "The contingent has been selected keeping in mind the Indian Olympic Association's long-term vision of preparing and encouraging the most deserving athletes for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics based on them attaining qualification criteria."
Earlier, in June this year, the IOA had submitted a provisional list to the Sports Ministry which had the names of 2370 athletes and officials. But only 524 athletes have attained the qualification criteria in their respective disciplines. In the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, the Indian contingent featured 541 athletes across 28 disciplines.