Indian contenders at the Asian and Commonwealth Games

Sushil Kumar

There are plenty of Indians who are going to participate in the upcoming Asian games in Incheon, Korea and the Commonwealth games in Glasgow. Among the Indian contingent, the hopes are being pinned on some of the players who have done well in the past and are serious contenders to win medals for the country.

There are various sports in which India can be expected to perform well. The Indian team has a good record at these games and if all goes well, the country’s athletes can bring home medals in wrestling, badminton, hockey, cricket, shooting and maybe even archery.

In wrestling the main contender in the men's category is Sushil Kumar, who has won a medal each at the Bejing 2008 and London 2012 Olympics. Yogeshwar Dutt, who won a bronze at the London Olympics, along with several other young Indian wrestlers have a chance to showcase their talent in these two prestigious events. Wrestling is a sport where India can hope for quite a few medals.

In badminton Sania Nehwal and PV Sindhu, who did incredibly well in the recent Uber Cup, winning bronze medal for the first time, will be under immense pressure to perform. In the male category the likes of K Srikanth, Parupalli Kashyap and Sourabh Varma have to face the world’s best, especially the top Chinese players, and hope to come out triumphant.

The hockey team’s players have to work on their fitness and should necessarily be at the top of their game if they want to be the on the medal podium. The main challenges will come from South Korea, Malaysia and Pakistan.

In the Asian Games, where cricket will be one of the sports, the Indian team can win a medal for the country if the top players are sent for the event. The team will have stiff competition from Sri Lanka and Pakistan, but this is surely one of the finest stages to showcase their mettle.

Another game in which India is hopeful of bringing a medal at the Asian games is kabaddi, in both the men’s and women’s sections. Indians have done well in the previous Asian Games, winning gold medals in both the sections, and the expectations on them to replicate that feat will be tremendous.

Archery is another game where India can win a medal in the women's section. Deepika Kumari has a chance to do well, and she will face challenges from China and South Korea.

I am sure if the Indians do as well as expected in all of these sports, then there are chances that India can finish in the top 5 of the medals table.

The games in Korea and Glasgow will be a chance for the Indians to compete with top Asian and Commonwealth countries and bring laurels to the country, and it will be interesting to see how the country’s athletes respond to the expectations and pressure.