Asian Games preview: India hoping to better Guangzhou tally in Incheon

Incheon (South Korea), Sep 18 (IANS)

A lot will be at stake for India's 516 athletes in the next 16 days as they get ready to make the country proud with a top-five finish in the 17th Asian Games, starting here Friday.

India will compete in 28 events in Incheon with an eye to repeat the 2010 Asiad glory when they finished sixth after collecting 65 medals - 14 gold, 17 silver and 34 bronze.

But given some high-profile late withdrawals - former wrestling world champion and two-time Olympic medal winner Sushil Kumar, 2008 Olympic bronze medalist boxer Vijender Singh, tennis stars Somdev Devvarman, double gold medalist in Guangzhou, established doubles players Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna and veteran badminton doubles specialist Jwala Gutta - the road for India will not be easy.

However, the country will bank upon its shooters, wrestlers, pugilists and athletes to contribute bulk of the medals. The Sports Authority of India (SAI) has set a target of 70-75 medals from the Asian Games but anything more than Guangzhou's count of 65 medals would be considered an impressive show.

SAI recently stirred a controversy by drastically pruning the Asian Games contingent initially proposed by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). The IOA, which returned to the international fold in February after serving a 14-month ban over a controversial election in December 2012, named a mammoth contingent of 942, comprising 662 athletes and 280 officials. But SAI later cut it down to 516 athletes and 163 support staff for a total of 679.

Leading the shooters' charge will be 2008 Olympic champion Abhinav Bindra, who aims to finish Asiad career on a high by earning first-ever continental gold in the 10m air rifle.

Other Olympic star shooters Gagan Narang and Vijay Kumar will also look to continue the good work along with some rising talents Commonwealth Games champion 50m pistol shooter Jitu Rai, 25m pistol shooter Rahi Sarnobat, and 10m air rifle women shooter Apurvi Chandela. Adding to the mix will be two veterans - Anjali Bhagwat and Samresh Jung, who are making a comeback after a long time.

The 18-member wrestling contingent will look to end 28-year wait for the Asiad gold. The team, without Sushil Kumar, will seek inspiration from 2012 Olympic bronze medalist Yogeshwar Dutt, who will compete in the 65kg catregory. Other medal hopefuls will be Amit Kumar (57kg), Bajrang Kumar (61kg) and couple of women wrestlers in Babita Kumari (55kg) and Vinesh Phogat (48kg). Narasingh Yadav will fill in for Sushil in the 74kg category.

The grapplers are likely to face a stiff challenge from South Korea, Mongolia, Iraq, Japan and Kazakhstan.

Among the 56-member athletics contingent, discus thrower Vikash Gowda has a strong chance to bag gold as Preeja Sreedharan (10,000m) and Sudha Singh (3,000m steeplchase) are confident of defending their titles.

Boxers had won nine medals (two gold, three silver and four bronze) in the previous edition of the Asiad, but considering the lack of international exposure due to the federation-related imbroglio, the number of medals from the 13-member team may come down.

The focus will be on Laisharam Devendro Singh (49kg), Shiva Thapa (56kg), Vikash Krishan Yadav (75kg) and 2012 Olympic bronze medallist women boxer M.C. Mary Kom (51kg).

Among other disciplines, men and women's kabaddi teams are looking strong to continue their domination while the archery squad spearheaded by former world number one Deepika Kumari will be eager to leave their mark after missing the Glasgow Commonwealth Games. Apart from Deepika, there are a couple of others who too can push for medals.

In badminton, once again the onus of winning medals will fall upon the young shoulders of Saina Nehwal and P.V. Sindhu, though the competition level will be quite high.

In men's hockey, Sardar Singh & Co should fancy their chances against arch-rivals Pakistan, South Korea and Malaysia. Other disciplines where India look to make their mark are tennis, squash and table tennis.