IN THE Land of Rising Sun, the Indian contingent took its own time to get up and going. But when it did, at the fag end of the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, it blazed a spectacular trail of sporting excellence which produced future stars on whom India can bank upon for next glory. India ended up with 85 medals, their second-best campaign in terms of total medals and gave a glimpse into a talent pool which if nurtured well can bring even Olympic medals beginning in Los Angeles in 2028. The 85-medal tally, including 21 gold, is lesser than what India achieved (106) in Hangzhou 2023. Their fourth-place finish matches their position from last Asiad and remains their joint-best since 1962. There were different factors which led to a drop in medals including removal of some disciplines but a post-mortem of the Japan Asian Games must now focus on those disciplines in which medals were on offer but Indian sportspersons spurned it at the last moment.

 

A detailed analysis of individual performances and overall mechanism behind each sport will bring out discrepancies which India must remove before the next marquee event. However, India would be happy to see the emergence of new stars in different categories. While most of the proven names rose to their status and ticked the medals tally, the late gold rush was spurred by many youngsters hitherto unknown to sports lovers. Leading the pack was young Kumkum Mohod, who became the first Indian to win an individual recurve gold and also secured a women’s recurve quota place for the LA 2028 Olympics. The 17-year-old was the highlight of India’s archery campaign as they brought five gold medals, nine podium finishes, and a series of historic milestones. India were supposed to fare better in the compound events but the recurve team led by Kumkum’s heroics headlined India’s tremendous surge in Aichi-Nagoya. Women were the toast of the Asian Games campaign for India.

 

Young shooter Neeru Dhanda defied expectations and pressure to bring home the country’s first gold medal in Nagoya and then added one more gold and silver in team events. The women’s hockey team gave India a magical moment by clinching gold after enduring a 44-year wait. Their supreme show has also earned the team a direct spot in the LA Olympics which proved to be icing on the cake. Not far behind were the women’s cricket team as they stamped their authority on the continental battle with a gold medal. In individual events, weightlifter Mirabai Chanu completed her medals basket with a silver while boxer Lovlina Borgohain overcame her bouts of depression to win a gold to complement her great show in the Commonwealth Games. Giving the final touch was a totally unknown name on the golf greens. Pranavi Urs came from nowhere to pick the gold medal thus aiding the women power pushing Indian campaign on the sporting field yet again. The men were not too far behind.

 

The cricket team and hockey team ensured a double to go with women’s gold. India dominated in kabaddi, too, and also on the wrestling floor to cap up a fine show. Though some could not replicate the Hangzhou show, emergence of new names gives hope to Indian sports for the future. The Asian Games campaign will be celebrated by the country and the champions will be showered with gifts and accolades in the days to come. But there is also a need to measure the overall success with the funds spent to create the ecosystem. In the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS), India has been funding potential athletes and elite sportspersons who can bring medals. The flagship scheme has yielded fine results but in Nagoya, some medal winners came from outside the scheme. The Sports Ministry would do well to find out the reasons behind the slip-up. Moreover, thorough discussion is also needed on the surprising failure of India’s badminton stars. It turned the script upside down for India. More such failures of the favourites do not augur well with just two years to go for the Olympics.