The 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang marked a defining moment in India’s modern sporting history.

Four years after winning 57 medals at Incheon, India produced its biggest-ever Asian Games medal haul at the time.

India finished 8th in the medal table with a revised tally of:

16 Gold | 23 Silver | 31 Bronze | 70 Medals

The original 2018 tally was 69 medals. However, India’s mixed 4×400m relay silver was later upgraded to gold after Bahrain’s disqualification following a doping violation, while Anu Raghavan was elevated from fourth to bronze in the women’s 400m hurdles. India’s final historical tally therefore became 70 medals — 16 gold, 23 silver and 31 bronze.

The 70-medal haul remained India’s Asian Games record until the 107-medal campaign at Hangzhou 2022/2023.

More importantly, Jakarta–Palembang was an edition where a new generation of Indian athletes announced themselves on the continental stage.

From 57 Medals to 70

India had won 57 medals at Incheon 2014.

Four years later, the country added 13 more medals.

India’s rank remained eighth, but the quality and scale of the campaign improved substantially.

Gold medals increased from 11 to 16, while silver medals more than doubled from 10 to 23.

The 2018 campaign was also India’s first time crossing the 70-medal mark at the Asian Games.

Neeraj Chopra Makes History

One of the defining moments of Jakarta 2018 came from a 20-year-old javelin thrower.

Neeraj Chopra won India’s first-ever Asian Games gold medal in men’s javelin throw.

Chopra produced a spectacular 88.06m throw — a new national record at the time — to win the title.

He had already been identified as one of India’s brightest young athletes, but Jakarta transformed him from a promising champion into a national sporting star.

His gold was India’s eighth of the Games and came at the end of a remarkable series in which he consistently crossed the 80-metre mark.

The significance of the achievement was historic: before Chopra, India’s only Asian Games medal in men’s javelin had been Gurtej Singh’s bronze at the 1982 New Delhi Games.

Chopra would go on to become an Olympic champion at Tokyo 2020, but his Asian Games gold in Jakarta was an important early chapter in that journey.

Vinesh Phogat Creates History

Indian wrestling had another historic moment in Jakarta.

Vinesh Phogat won gold in the women’s 50kg freestyle category, becoming the first Indian woman to win an Asian Games wrestling gold medal.

She defeated Japan’s Yuki Irie in the final to claim the title.

Vinesh’s gold came alongside Bajrang Punia’s men’s 65kg freestyle gold, giving India two wrestling champions at the Games.

Bajrang had also won India’s first gold medal of the 2018 Asian Games.

The two victories demonstrated the strength of India’s wrestling programme while also highlighting the growing presence of Indian women in combat sports.

Swapna Barman’s Historic Heptathlon Gold

Another landmark came in athletics.

Swapna Barman became the first Indian to win an Asian Games gold medal in the women’s heptathlon.

Competing across seven events, Barman accumulated 6026 points to finish at the top.

Her victory was particularly significant because the heptathlon demands excellence across sprinting, jumping and throwing events.

Barman’s story also became one of the most inspiring narratives of the Games.

From a difficult childhood and limited resources to becoming an Asian Games champion, her gold represented not only sporting achievement but also the growing reach of Indian athletics.

Hima Das and the Golden Relay Generation

Hima Das was another young Indian athlete who captured the imagination of the country.

She won 400m silver and was part of India’s gold-medal winning women’s 4×400m relay team.

She also became part of India’s historic mixed 4×400m relay team alongside Muhammed Anas, M. R. Poovamma and Rajiv Arokia.

The quartet initially won silver.

However, following the subsequent disqualification of Bahrain because of Kemi Adekoya’s doping violation, India’s medal was upgraded to gold in 2020.

That made India the first winner of the mixed 4×400m relay at the Asian Games, an event introduced at Jakarta 2018.

Athletics Becomes India’s Biggest Medal Engine

Athletics was once again the backbone of India’s campaign.

The sport contributed 20 medals:

8 Gold | 9 Silver | 3 Bronze

The gold-medal winners included:

• Tajinderpal Singh Toor — Shot Put
• Neeraj Chopra — Javelin Throw
• Manjit Singh — 800m
• Rajiv Arokia, Muhammed Anas, Hima Das, M. R. Poovamma — Mixed 4×400m Relay
• Arpinder Singh — Triple Jump
• Swapna Barman — Heptathlon
• Jinson Johnson — 1500m
• M. R. Poovamma, Saritaben Gaikwad, Hima Das, V. K. Vismaya — Women’s 4×400m Relay

There were also silver medals for Hima Das, Muhammed Anas, Dutee Chand, Dharun Ayyasamy, Sudha Singh, Neena Varakil and others.

Several long-standing gaps were also closed.

Manjit Singh’s 800m gold came 32 years after India’s previous victory in the event, while Jinson Johnson’s 1500m gold ended a 20-year wait for an Indian victory in the event. Arpinder Singh’s triple-jump gold ended a 48-year wait.

Shooting Produces Two Gold Medals

Shooting continued to be one of India’s most dependable medal sports.

India won nine shooting medals in Jakarta:

2 Gold | 4 Silver | 3 Bronze

The gold medals went to:

• Saurabh Chaudhary — Men’s 10m Air Pistol
• Rahi Sarnobat — Women’s 25m Pistol

Saurabh Chaudhary was only 16 years old when he won his Asian Games gold, becoming one of the youngest Indian champions at the Games.

Rahi Sarnobat’s victory was equally historic.

She became the first Indian woman to win an Asian Games gold medal in shooting.

Saina and Sindhu Make Badminton History

Jakarta 2018 also produced an important milestone for Indian badminton.

P. V. Sindhu won silver in women’s singles, becoming the first Indian badminton player to reach an Asian Games singles final.

She lost the final to Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying.

Saina Nehwal, meanwhile, won bronze.

Nehwal’s medal was India’s first-ever medal in women’s singles badminton at the Asian Games.

Together, Saina and Sindhu represented another major step forward for Indian women’s badminton.

Fouaad Mirza Revives Indian Equestrianism

India also enjoyed a memorable campaign in equestrian sport.

Fouaad Mirza won two silver medals:

• Individual Eventing
• Team Eventing

His individual silver was particularly significant and placed Mirza among the standout Indian performers of the Games.

The team eventing silver also demonstrated India’s continued ability to compete in a sport with a long but relatively low-profile tradition in the country.

Bridge Makes a Golden Debut

The 2018 Asian Games introduced bridge to the programme.

India immediately made an impact.

Pranab Bardhan and Shibhnath Sarkar won gold in the men’s pair event.

The victory was one of the most unusual stories of India’s campaign.

Bardhan was 60 and Sarkar was 56 at the time, showing that Asian Games success was not limited to India’s young sporting stars.

India also won bronze medals in the men’s team and mixed team events.

New Medals in Sepak Takraw and Table Tennis

India’s medal spread also became wider.

The men’s sepak takraw team won bronze, giving India its first Asian Games medal in the sport.

Table tennis also produced two bronze medals:

• Men’s Team
• Mixed Doubles

The men’s team included Sharath Kamal, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, Harmeet Desai, Anthony Amalraj and Manav Thakkar.

The mixed doubles bronze came through Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra.

These results showed that India’s progress was no longer concentrated only in traditional medal-producing sports.

Squash, Shooting and Combat Sports Add Depth

Squash contributed five medals, including silver in the women’s team event and bronze medals in men’s and women’s individual events and the men’s team event.

Wushu produced four bronze medals.

Kurash contributed two medals.

Wrestling produced three medals, while boxing added two.

India’s medal-winning sports also included archery, badminton, equestrian, field hockey, kabaddi, rowing, sailing, sepak takraw and table tennis.

The breadth of the medal spread was one of the most encouraging aspects of Jakarta 2018.

India’s 70 Medals at the 2018 Asian Games

Gold Medals — 16

Silver Medals — 23

Bronze Medals — 31

2014 to 2018: India’s Big Jump

The improvement was substantial.

India added 13 medals to its 2014 tally.

Gold medals increased by five, while silver medals jumped from 10 to 23.

The bronze tally declined from 36 to 31, but the overall campaign became considerably stronger in terms of gold and silver medals.

Why Jakarta 2018 Matters

The 2018 Asian Games were more than a record medal haul.

They were a statement about the changing face of Indian sport.

Neeraj Chopra became India’s first Asian Games javelin champion.

Vinesh Phogat became the first Indian woman wrestler to win Asian Games gold.

Rahi Sarnobat became the first Indian woman shooter to win Asian Games gold.

Swapna Barman became India’s first Asian Games heptathlon champion.

P. V. Sindhu became the first Indian shuttler to reach an Asian Games singles final.

India won its first Asian Games medal in sepak takraw, while bridge made its debut with an Indian gold.

And a group of young athletes — Neeraj Chopra, Hima Das, Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia, Saurabh Chaudhary, Swapna Barman and others — began to define the next chapter of Indian sport.

The 70-medal campaign in Jakarta and Palembang was therefore not simply a statistical milestone.

It was the foundation for what Indian sport would achieve in the years that followed.

Five years later, India would return to the Asian Games and produce an unprecedented 107-medal campaign in Hangzhou.

But the road to that breakthrough ran through Jakarta 2018.