NB Explains | India scripts history, smash their highest-ever medal tally at Asian Games with 71 medals. Can India cross 100-mark?

India is roaring hard at the ongoing the Asian Games 2023. With still four and half days to till the conclusion of the 19th edition in Hangzhou, the Indian contingent achieved its highest-ever medal tally at the Games. They took their overall medal tally to 71 on Wednesday by adding two more medals in the first half of the day.

Their previous best was 70 medals in the last edition of the Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia in 2018.

 

 

 

Ram Baboo and Manju Rani won bronze in the first event of the day - the 35km race walk mixed team. They finished with a timing of 5:51:14. This historic bronze medal in race walk meant India equaled their best-ever performance at the Asian Games.

 

Soon after that, it was the golden effort from the archers that crossed the milestone. Jyothi Surekha Vennam and Pravin Ojas Deotale won gold in the compound archery mixed team event after beating Chaewon So and Jaehoon Joo of South Korea 159-158. This was India's first gold in archery in this edition of the Games and it was a special one in more ways than one.

 

India have so far won 16 gold medals, 26 silver medals and 29 bronze medals in this Asian Games.

 

India has already ensured four medals. They have three more medals confirmed in the individual events of archery, two of which can be gold. The finals of these two events will take place later. India have two assured medals in the squash doubles event and two more from boxing which means their medal count is certain to be 78 even if they don't manage to get any other podium finish.

The shooting and athletics contingents have been the biggest contributors to India's best-ever Asian Games campaign. India has got 22 medals in shooting and 23 so far in athletics, with a few more events including Neeraj Chopra's javelin throw final still to go in the track and field.

India is currently fourth in medal tally behind China, Japan, and South Korea who all have won more than 100 medals. China, in fact, is nearing 300.

With wrestling, hockey (men and women), men's cricket, badminton(singles and doubles), archery (recurve team and individual) squash (doubles), boxing, kabaddi (men and women), and athletics still to go, India could well dream of getting more than 90 medals at the Hangzhou Games.