The 11th Asian Games were held in Beijing, China, from 22 September to 7 October 1990.
For India, the Games represented a sharp decline from the 37 medals won in Seoul in 1986. India returned with just 23 medals, finishing 12th in the medal table.
The tally was:
1 Gold | 8 Silver | 14 Bronze | 23 Medals
Yet Beijing 1990 remains an important edition in India’s Asian Games history for one major reason: kabaddi made its official debut, and India immediately won the gold medal.
India’s Only Gold Medal
India’s sole gold medal came in men’s kabaddi.
Kabaddi was contested by six teams in a round-robin format, and India finished unbeaten to become the inaugural Asian Games men’s kabaddi champion.
The Indian gold-medal squad included:
- Raju Bhavsar
- Krishan Kumar Godara
- Anil Kumar
- Ashan Kumar
- Tirath Raj
- S. Rajarathinam
- Ashok Shinde
- Hardeep Singh
- Randhir Singh
This would be the beginning of India’s extraordinary dominance in Asian Games kabaddi. India has subsequently won men’s kabaddi gold at almost every edition in which the event has been contested, with 2018 being the notable exception.
P. T. Usha Continues to Lead
Although she did not win gold in Beijing, P. T. Usha remained one of India’s leading performers.
She won silver in the women’s 400m and was part of the silver-medal winning women’s 4×100m and 4×400m relay teams.
The 4×100m relay team consisted of:
Zenia Ayrton, Ashwini Nachappa, Kutty Saramma and P. T. Usha.
The 4×400m relay team consisted of:
Pranati Mishra, Shantimol Philips, Kutty Saramma and P. T. Usha.
Other notable silver-medal performances came from Deena Rani in the 3000m steeplechase, Bharti Singh and Jyotsna Dutta in weightlifting, and Ombir Singh in wrestling.
Rowing Produces Four Bronze Medals
Rowing was India’s most productive sport in terms of bronze medals, producing four.
India won bronze in:
- Men’s Coxless Pair
- Men’s Coxless Four
- Men’s Lightweight Single Sculls
- Men’s Lightweight Double Sculls
The coxless pair was represented by Surinder Singh and Rajender Singh Bhanwala, while the coxless four consisted of Gajendran, Jasbir Singh, Surinder Singh and P. M. Pathak.
Hockey Remains Among India’s Strengths
The men’s hockey team won silver in Beijing.
India finished behind Pakistan in the seven-team round-robin tournament. The silver continued India’s remarkable record in Asian Games hockey, although the men’s team had not won gold since Bangkok 1966.
A Wider Spread of Medals
India’s 23 medals came from 10 different sports.
| Sport | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Athletics | 0 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| Weightlifting | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Rowing | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Wrestling | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Sailing | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Boxing | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Hockey | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Shooting | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Tennis | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Kabaddi | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 1 | 8 | 14 | 23 |
Athletics remained India’s biggest medal-producing sport with six medals, while weightlifting and rowing contributed four each.
1986 vs 1990
| Edition | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seoul 1986 | 5 | 9 | 23 | 37 | 5th |
| Beijing 1990 | 1 | 8 | 14 | 23 | 12th |
The decline was significant.
India’s total medal count fell from 37 to 23, while gold medals dropped from five to just one. India also slipped from fifth to 12th in the medal table.
But the Beijing Games also marked the beginning of something new.
The introduction of kabaddi gave India another sport in which it could establish a sustained presence at the Asian Games.
Complete List of India’s 23 Medal Winners
Gold Medals — 1
| Athlete / Team | Sport | Event |
|---|---|---|
| Indian Men’s Kabaddi Team | Kabaddi | Men’s Team |
Silver Medals — 8
| Athlete / Team | Sport | Event |
|---|---|---|
| P. T. Usha | Athletics | Women’s 400m |
| Deena Rani | Athletics | 3000m Steeplechase |
| Zenia Ayrton, Ashwini Nachappa, Kutty Saramma, P. T. Usha | Athletics | Women’s 4×100m Relay |
| Pranati Mishra, Shantimol Philips, Kutty Saramma, P. T. Usha | Athletics | Women’s 4×400m Relay |
| Bharti Singh | Weightlifting | Women’s 82.5kg |
| Jyotsna Dutta | Weightlifting | Women’s +82.5kg |
| Ombir Singh | Wrestling | Men’s 48kg Freestyle |
| Indian Men’s Hockey Team | Hockey | Men’s Team |
Bronze Medals — 14
| Athlete / Team | Sport | Event |
|---|---|---|
| S. D. Eashan | Athletics | Men’s Shot Put |
| Rosa Kutty | Athletics | Women’s 800m |
| Gopal Dewang | Boxing | Men’s 71kg |
| Surinder Singh & Rajender Singh Bhanwala | Rowing | Men’s Coxless Pair |
| Gajendran, Jasbir Singh, Surinder Singh, P. M. Pathak | Rowing | Men’s Coxless Four |
| Dalbir Singh | Rowing | Men’s Lightweight Single Sculls |
| Dalbir Singh & Ramanjit Singh | Rowing | Men’s Lightweight Double Sculls |
| Farokh Tarapore & Cyrus Cama | Sailing | Men’s 470 |
| Pushpendra Kumar Garg & Homi Motivala | Sailing | Open Enterprise |
| Soma Dutta | Shooting | Women’s 50m Rifle Prone |
| Zeeshan Ali, Leander Paes, Rohit Rajpal, Srinivasan Vasudevan | Tennis | Men’s Team |
| Kunjarani Devi | Weightlifting | Women’s 44kg |
| Chhaya Adak | Weightlifting | Women’s 52kg |
| Subhash Verma | Wrestling | Men’s 100kg Freestyle |
The complete medal list is consistent with the Indian Olympic Association’s historical record of 1 gold, 8 silver and 14 bronze medals.
Why Beijing 1990 Matters
On the surface, Beijing 1990 was a disappointing campaign for India.
The medal count dropped by 14 from Seoul, gold medals fell from five to one, and India slipped seven places in the medal table.
But history remembers the edition for something else.
Kabaddi officially entered the Asian Games programme — and India immediately became its first champion.
That gold medal would be the first chapter of an extraordinary Asian Games record.
Beijing 1990 therefore represents a transition in India’s sporting story: a period when some traditional strengths were struggling, but a new sport was emerging that would eventually become one of India’s most reliable sources of Asian Games gold.
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