IOA announce Indian contingent for 2018 Asian Games

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on Tuesday announced a 524-member contingent for the upcoming Asian Games to be held from August 18-September 2 in Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia.

The contingent which consists of 277 men and 247 women athletes, will vie for medals in 36 disciplines. Four years ago at the Incheon Asian Games, the Indian contingent comprised of 541 athletes who participated across 28 disciplines.

However eight new disciplines, where the Indian athletes have shown promise and improvement, has been added for this edition. They are Karate, Kurash, Pencak Silat, Roller Skating, Sambo, Sepaktakraw, Triathlon and Soft Tennis.

The other disciplines in which Indian athletes will take part in are, Archery, Athletics, Badminton, Basketball, Boxing, Bowling, Canoe-Kayak (Sprint), Canoe-Kayak (Slalom), Cycling, Equestrian, Fencing, Gymnastics, Golf, Handball, Hockey, Judo, Kabaddi, Rowing, Sailing, Shooting, Squash, Aquatics – Swimming, Aquatics – Diving, Tennis, Taekwondo, Table Tennis, Volleyball, Weightlifting, Wrestling and Wushu.

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Among them athletics will have the highest number of representation with 52 athletes eyeing for the medals.

The IOA had earlier in June submitted a provisional list of a total of 2370 athletes and officials to the Sports Ministry. The final list has however now been pruned down further to 524 members, which includes athletes who have attained the qualification criteria in their respective disciplines.

“I would like to wish all the 524 members of the Indian contingent the very best for the 18th Asian Games to be held at Jakarta Palembang 2018. The contingent has been selected keeping in mind the Indian Olympic Association’s long term vision of preparing and encouraging the most deserving athletes for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics based on them attaining qualification criteria,” said Rajeev Mehta, Secretary General of IOA.

The IOA has however decided against sending the Indian men’s and women’s football team to the competition as they are ineligible under the existing criteria set by the association. The decision has since sparked a big controversy with the All India Football Federation (AIFF) even calling the IOA’s decision as ‘myopic.’