Nagoya: Double Olympic medallist pistol shooter Manu Bhaker and shot putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor have been named as India’s flag-bearers for the Asian Games opening ceremony, scheduled for Saturday.
The opening ceremony will take place at the Paloma Mizuho Stadium between 2:30 pm and 4:30 pm IST. Over 500 Indian athletes are set to compete in 37 sports at the 20th edition of the Asian Games, which will conclude October 4.
Manu created history by becoming the first Indian athlete in the post-independence era to win two medals at a single edition of the Olympic Games in Paris when she bagged bronze medals in 10m air Pistl and 10m air pistol mixed team event. She was a part of the gold-medal-winning 25m pistol women’s team in the Hangzhou edition of the continental games.
Meanwhile, Toor is a two-time defending champion in shot put in the Asian Games.
The Asian Games are the biggest sports competition in Asia, held once every four years. They are organised by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA). The upcoming Games will feature 45 countries and regions competing across 43 sports. This will be the 20th edition of the Games and the third time that the continental showpiece is being hosted by Japan after Tokyo 1958 and Hiroshima 1994.
India headed to the continental showpiece looking to surpass the record-breaking campaign at Hangzhou 2023, where they won 107 medals, including 28 gold.
India are the defending champions in both men’s and women’s cricket and kabaddi, while the men’s hockey team coming as the reigning champions.
PV Sindhu will spearhead India’s badminton campaign, while Mirabai Chanu will lead the weightlifting contingent. Manu Bhaker will be among the country’s leading names in shooting, with Aman Sehrawat taking the mat in wrestling. Lovlina Borgohain, meanwhile, will look to pack a punch in boxing
Athletics will feature over 75 Indian track and field athletes with Gulveer Singh, Tejaswin Shankar, Murali Sreeshankar, Jyothi Yarraji, Parul Chuadhary are some of India’s leading medal prospects. Tajinderpal Singh Toor heads into Aichi-Nagoya as a two-time defending champion in shot put.
Olympic quotas are also available in archery, sailing, squash, surfing and tennis.
