Even as Japan, known for efficiency, welcomes its third Asian Games and the first in 32 years, on Saturday, the Aichi-Nagoya Games have already earned the ‘worst ever’ tag because of accommodation and logistical issues. A country that successfully hosted two Olympics — in 1964, within two decades of suffering atomic bombings, and in 2021, behind closed doors amid the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic — is now strangely struggling to accommodate more than 17,000 athletes and officials from 45 nations in hotels, containers and a cruise ship. Despite these issues, 501 of India’s athletes, including 267 men and 234 women, across 36 disciplines, will try to keep its flag flying high. At the previous Hangzhou Asiad, India had an impressive tally of 106 medals and was placed fourth behind China, Japan and South Korea. There is a significant drop in the number of Indian athletes, from 650-plus in 40 disciplines three years ago, following rationalisation, discouraging a mad rush because of the perks and money associated with the Asiad. Nevertheless, Indian sports authorities expect around 100 medals, which may noticeably improve the athlete-to-medal ratio.

The presence of 310 debutants in the contingent signals a brighter future for the country, which has spent nearly ₹800 crore on Asian Games preparations in the last cycle. Shooting and athletics, which together field 105 athletes, should continue to be the major contributors to India’s medals tally, followed by archery, boxing, badminton, squash and wrestling. Stars including Manu Bhaker, Mirabai Chanu, Lovlina Borgohain, P.V. Sindhu, Aman Sehrawat, Tajinderpal Singh Toor, Gulveer Singh, Harmanpreet Singh, Smriti Mandhana and Jasprit Bumrah will lead India’s campaign. At 39, squash player Joshna Chinappa will be the first Indian to compete in seven consecutive Asian Games. The youngest athlete, 15-year-old cricketer Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, and the oldest, 55-year-old rider Shruti Vora, are the other attractions. Some attention will also be devoted to Indian men’s and women’s hockey teams, which will aim to win gold medals and secure berths at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. While India can take pride in fielding athletes in debut-making disciplines, such as mixed martial arts and teqball, it should ponder over its poor representation in swimming, gymnastics and cycling, which offer more medals and open avenues for Olympic glory. Meanwhile, the Indian men and women’s teams would be watched closely in cricket. In pushing for continental excellence, India should also remain vigilant about its deteriorating global reputation due to the sharply rising doping graph.