Hangzhou high, Paris promise – Hindustan Times

India’s best-ever outing has now fetched 107 medals at the Hangzhou Asian Games, and could, therefore, act as a springboard to the Olympics. Even more since, unlike the usual two-year wait between the two multi-sport events, the 2024 Paris Olympics are less than a year away. In disciplines such as badminton and table tennis, the competition at the Asian Games is of the same level — if not greater due to entry restrictions per nation at the Olympics — as the Olympics. And India making its presence felt on the podium in both was an incredible feat, which, particularly regarding doubles pairs standing out in each sport, holds immense promise. Indian shooting getting back on its feet after the Tokyo Games debacle with a rich medal haul was equally noteworthy. However, with a sizeable portion of its 22 medals coming from team events — they aren’t part of the Olympics — work will have to continue to translate that into more individual medals. Wrestling and boxing, India’s traditional and bankable medal disciplines at major events, lived up to their reputation in terms of quantity but not quite in terms of quality as neither had a gold medallist. The gold that had direct Olympics consequence was in hockey, and the men’s team grabbed it without drama, sealing their spot for Paris. The gap, though, between Asian and world hockey was evident in Hangzhou, and the task will now be to replicate the continental dominance to medal-worthy competitiveness at the Olympics. Ditto with athletics. Track & field, with 29 medals, reaffirmed its athletes’ upward growth trajectory led by Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra. For others, the step up to the Olympics level will present a different challenge altogether.

That said, from an Asian Games that broke the triple-digit medals barrier for the first time, there were positives aplenty, a directional surge that shows Indian sport is on the right track, and the hope for a double-digit high at Paris 2024.