The 19th Asian Games, officially known as the 2022 Asian Games, were held in Hangzhou, China, from September 23 to October 8, 2023, after being postponed by a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

For India, the delay proved inconsequential.

What followed was the greatest Asian Games campaign in the country’s history.

India crossed the 100-medal mark for the first time, finishing fourth in the medal table.

The original result was 107 medals — 28 gold, 38 silver and 41 bronze. Following the subsequent disqualification of boxer Parveen Hooda, who was stripped of her women’s 57kg bronze medal, India’s current revised tally stands at:

28 Gold | 38 Silver | 40 Bronze | 106 Medals

The revised total remains India’s greatest-ever Asian Games performance.

And more than the numbers, Hangzhou represented a transformation.

India was no longer dependent on a handful of traditional medal-winning sports. Archery, shooting and athletics produced extraordinary numbers, while cricket, badminton, equestrian sport and other disciplines expanded India’s medal base.

India Finally Crosses 100

The target had been spoken about before the Games.

In Hangzhou, Indian athletes made it a reality.

India became only the fourth nation after China, Japan and South Korea to cross 100 medals in a single Asian Games edition.

The scale of the improvement was remarkable.

*Contemporary official tally; the 2018 mixed 4×400m relay result was subsequently upgraded in later records.

Hangzhou figure revised after Parveen Hooda’s bronze was stripped.

The transformation is unmistakable.

India went from 57 medals in 2014 to more than 100 in Hangzhou, while also moving from eighth to fourth in the medal table.

The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports recorded Hangzhou as India’s best Asian Games performance, with athletics contributing 29 medals, shooting 22 and archery nine.

Neeraj Chopra Defends His Crown

Four years after winning his first Asian Games javelin gold in Jakarta, Neeraj Chopra returned to defend his title.

And he did it.

Chopra won the men’s javelin throw gold medal, producing a throw of 88.88m.

It was another important chapter in the career of India’s Olympic champion and one of the country’s most recognisable athletes.

But Chopra’s victory was also symbolic.

He was no longer simply an emerging champion.

He was now the standard-bearer of Indian athletics.

Kishore Jena’s Breakthrough

India’s javelin success went beyond Chopra.

Kishore Jena won silver, producing a personal best of 87.54m.

India therefore finished first and second in the men’s javelin competition.

It was one of the clearest signs of the depth that had developed around the event in Indian athletics.

Avinash Sable Makes Steeplechase History

One of India’s most memorable gold medals came from Avinash Sable.

Sable won the men’s 3000m steeplechase, becoming the first Indian man to win Asian Games gold in the event.

His victory was part of a remarkable athletics campaign that also included gold medals for Tajinderpal Singh Toor, Parul Chaudhary and Annu Rani.

Sable would later add a silver in the 5000m.

His Hangzhou campaign was a reminder that Indian distance running was producing champions beyond the traditional sprint and field events.

Athletics Becomes a Major Powerhouse

Athletics produced 29 medals in Hangzhou, including 6 gold medals, according to the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.

India’s gold-medal winners in athletics included:

• Avinash Sable — 3000m steeplechase
• Tajinderpal Singh Toor — shot put
• Parul Chaudhary — 5000m
• Annu Rani — javelin throw
• Neeraj Chopra — javelin throw
• Men’s 4×400m relay team

Parul Chaudhary produced one of the memorable performances of the Games, winning the women’s 5000m gold after a dramatic finish.

Annu Rani also created history by winning India’s first Asian Games women’s javelin gold.

The men’s 4×400m relay team of Amoj Jacob, Rajesh Ramesh, Muhammad Anas and Muhammad Ajmal added another gold.

The depth of the athletics medal haul was perhaps the clearest indicator of India’s growing sporting strength.

Jyothi Surekha Vennam and India’s Golden Archery Revolution

If Hangzhou had a breakout sport for India, it was compound archery.

India won five gold medals in archery, led by the extraordinary campaign of Jyothi Surekha Vennam and Ojas Deotale.

Jyothi won:

• Women’s individual compound gold
• Women’s team compound gold
• Mixed team compound gold

Ojas also won:

• Men’s individual compound gold
• Men’s team compound gold

The mixed team final produced one of the defining images of the Games as Jyothi Surekha Vennam and Ojas Deotale defeated South Korea 159–158.

India’s compound archers had transformed what had once been a relatively secondary discipline into one of the country’s strongest medal-producing sports.

Shooting Produces Seven Golds

Shooting was another extraordinary success story.

India won 22 shooting medals — seven gold, nine silver and six bronze.

Among the gold medallists were:

Sift Kaur Samra — women’s 50m rifle 3 positions
Palak Gulia — women’s 10m air pistol
Esha Singh, Manu Bhaker and Rhythm Sangwan — women’s 25m pistol team
Arjun Cheema, Shiva Narwal and Sarabjot Singh — men’s 10m air pistol team
Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, Akhil Sheoran and Swapnil Kusale — men’s 50m rifle 3 positions team
Kynan Chenai, Prithviraj Tondaiman and Zoravar Singh — men’s trap team

The performance demonstrated the depth of Indian shooting across rifle, pistol and shotgun events.

Cricket Makes a Golden Asian Games Debut

One of the most anticipated additions to India’s Asian Games campaign was cricket.

And India won both gold medals.

The Indian women’s cricket team won the inaugural women’s Asian Games cricket gold, defeating Sri Lanka in the final.

The men’s team followed by winning gold as well.

The inclusion of cricket therefore gave India two gold medals and added a completely new dimension to the medal table.

Satwik and Chirag Make Badminton History

Another historic first came in badminton.

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty won the men’s doubles gold medal, becoming the first Indian badminton pair to win Asian Games gold in men’s doubles.

It was a landmark moment for Indian badminton.

The pair had already established themselves as one of the world’s leading doubles combinations. Hangzhou confirmed their position at the top of the Asian game.

India also won silver in the men’s team event and bronze through H. S. Prannoy in men’s singles.

The badminton campaign reflected the depth of India’s current generation rather than the success of one individual.

Saurav Ghosal and Squash

Squash continued to be one of India’s most reliable Asian Games sports.

India won gold in:

• Men’s team
• Mixed doubles

The men’s team featured Saurav Ghosal, Abhay Singh, Mahesh Mangaonkar and Harinder Pal Sandhu.

Ghosal also won silver in men’s singles.

Harinder Pal Sandhu and Dipika Pallikal won the mixed doubles gold.

Meanwhile, the women’s team and Abhay Singh–Anahat Singh mixed doubles pair won bronze.

Rohan Bopanna Ends His Asian Games Career With Gold

Tennis veteran Rohan Bopanna produced another memorable Asian Games chapter.

Partnering Rutuja Sampatrao Bhosale, Bopanna won the mixed doubles gold.

It was an important title for a player who had represented India at multiple generations of Asian Games and remained a major force in Indian tennis.

Indian Hockey Retains Its Place

The men’s hockey team won another Asian Games gold.

Led by captain Harmanpreet Singh, India defeated Japan in the final to retain the title.

The victory also secured India’s direct qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

The women’s hockey team won bronze.

Hockey therefore continued its long Asian Games tradition, even as newer sports were increasingly sharing the medal spotlight.

Equestrian Gold Returns After 41 Years

One of the most remarkable historical stories of Hangzhou came from equestrian sport.

Anush Agarwalla, Hriday Chheda, Divyakriti Singh and Sudipti Hajela won the team dressage gold.

It was India’s first Asian Games equestrian gold in 41 years, since the 1982 New Delhi Games.

Anush Agarwalla also won individual dressage bronze.

The result was a significant revival for Indian equestrian sport.

The Rise of Women’s Sport

Hangzhou was also a major statement about the depth of India’s women athletes.

India’s women’s gold medallists included:

• Indian women’s cricket team
• Esha Singh, Manu Bhaker and Rhythm Sangwan
• Sift Kaur Samra
• Palak Gulia
• Rohan Bopanna/Rutuja Bhosale mixed doubles
• Parul Chaudhary
• Annu Rani
• Jyothi Surekha Vennam
• Aditi Swami, Jyothi Surekha Vennam and Parneet Kaur
• Jyothi Surekha Vennam
• Indian women’s kabaddi team

Women’s athletics, shooting, archery, cricket, kabaddi, boxing, wrestling, sailing and other disciplines all contributed to India’s campaign.

The medal table was increasingly reflecting a much broader sporting ecosystem.

Kabaddi Remains India’s Stronghold

India continued its extraordinary Asian Games dominance in kabaddi.

Both the men’s and women’s teams won gold.

The men’s team was led by captain Pawan Sehrawat, while the women’s team successfully reclaimed the title.

Kabaddi remained one of the few sports where India’s Asian Games dominance had become almost synonymous with the sport itself.

The Golden Generation Across Sports

What made Hangzhou different from previous editions was the number of athletes competing at the highest level simultaneously.

Neeraj Chopra.
Jyothi Surekha Vennam.
Ojas Deotale.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy.
Chirag Shetty.
Avinash Sable.
Sift Kaur Samra.
Saurabh Chaudhary and the new generation of shooters.
Parul Chaudhary.
Annu Rani.
Anush Agarwalla.
Rohan Bopanna.
Lovlina Borgohain.

The list was no longer confined to a few traditional sporting disciplines.

India had developed champions across athletics, shooting, archery, badminton, cricket, hockey, squash, equestrian sport, tennis and more.

India’s Revised 106 Medals at Hangzhou

Gold — 28

Silver — 38

The silver medal winners included Mehuli Ghosh, Ramita Jindal and Ashi Chouksey in shooting; Arvind Singh and Arjun Lal Jat in rowing; Neha Thakur in sailing; Esha Singh, Anantjeet Singh Naruka, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar and several Indian shooting teams; tennis pair Saketh Myneni and Ramkumar Ramanathan; wushu’s Naorem Roshibina Devi; and athletics medallists Kartik Kumar, Harmilan Bains, Ajay Kumar Saroj, Murali Sreeshankar, Jyothi Yarraji, Parul Chaudhary, Ancy Sojan, Mohammed Afsal, Tejaswin Shankar, Avinash Sable, Kishore Jena and others.

India also won silver in badminton men’s team, golf through Aditi Ashok, boxing through Lovlina Borgohain, squash through Saurav Ghosal, archery, bridge, wrestling, chess and multiple athletics relays.

Bronze — 40

India’s bronze-medal winners came from rowing, shooting, sailing, equestrian, squash, athletics, roller sports, table tennis, canoeing, boxing, wrestling, archery, badminton, sepak takraw and hockey.

Among the notable bronze medallists were Ramita Jindal, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, Nikhat Zareen, Jinson Johnson, Seema Punia, Nandini Agasara, Priti Lamba, Preeti Pawar, Praveen Chithravel, Vithya Ramraj, Aman Sehrawat, Antim Panghal, Sonam Malik, Aditi Swami, H. S. Prannoy and the Indian women’s hockey team.

Note: Parveen Hooda’s women’s 57kg boxing bronze is excluded from the revised tally after her result was disqualified following an anti-doping whereabouts violation. India’s medal total consequently fell from 107 to 106.

2018 to Hangzhou: The Giant Leap

The 2018 Asian Games had already represented a major improvement for India.

Hangzhou took that progress to another level.

India crossed from the 70-medal era into the 100-medal era.

The country won:

28 Gold
38 Silver
40 Bronze
106 Medals

The fourth-place finish was also India’s best medal-table ranking since the early decades of the Asian Games.

Why Hangzhou 2022 Matters

The Hangzhou Asian Games were a watershed moment in Indian sport.

For decades, the question had been whether India could consistently win 50 or 60 medals.

In Hangzhou, the question disappeared.

India crossed 100 medals.

The achievement was built on depth.

Athletics produced 29 medals. Shooting produced 22. Archery delivered nine. Cricket contributed two golds. Badminton produced a historic men’s doubles champion. Equestrian sport returned to the top of the Asian podium. Hockey and kabaddi continued their dominance.

And at the centre of the campaign were athletes who had already become symbols of a new Indian sporting generation.

Neeraj Chopra.
Jyothi Surekha Vennam.
Ojas Deotale.
Satwik and Chirag.
Avinash Sable.
Parul Chaudhary.
Annu Rani.
Sift Kaur Samra.

Hangzhou was not simply India’s biggest Asian Games campaign.

It was the moment India demonstrated that its sporting success was becoming broader, deeper and more sustainable.

The revised total now stands at 106 medals, but the historical significance remains unchanged.

India had finally crossed the barrier.

The 100-medal era had arrived.