India's Performance in Sports and Esports at the Asian Games, 2023

India sent a team of 655 athletes, across 40 different sporting disciplines to compete in the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. The 19th edition of this continental multisport event began on September 23 and will end on October 8. The current Asian Games, which are held every four years, were supposed to take place in 2022 but were delayed by one year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.?

India's athletics team at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou was led by world-renowned javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra. India fielded cricket teams at the Asian Games for the first time, with both men's and women's teams competing. Badminton and squash saw full representation by India. However, the limelight fell upon esports as a full-fledged medal event at the Asian games for the first time. During the 2018 Asian Games, Esports was just considered as a demonstrative event.

India has had a mixed performance in traditional sports and Esports at the Asian Games, 2023. In sports, India finished their campaign by securing the 4th spot in table with 107 medals, including 28 gold, 38 silver, and 41 bronze medals. This is India's best ever performance at the Asian Games.?

Meanwhile in the Esports competitions, the Asian Games 2023 saw the Indian League of Legends squad, captained by Akshaj Shenoy (known as Kai), suffer a quarter-final loss to Vietnam, which marked the conclusion of their journey in Hangzhou.?

Additionally, India couldn't secure any esports medals in the FC Online and Street Fighter V: Champion Edition competitions and DOTA 2. The nation's DOTA 2 squad, headed by Darshan Bata (A35), and including Krish Gupta (Krish-), Abhishek Yadav (Abhi-), Ketan Goyal (Evil-Ash), and Shubham Goli (Madness), were placed in Group A, where they competed against Kyrgyzstan and the Philippines. Both of their group-stage matches followed the Best-of-One (BO1) single round-robin format. The Indian DOTA 2 team's campaign at the Asian Games 2023 ended unexpectedly after they lost to Philippines and Kyrgyzstan.

In FC Online, Charanjot Singh bowed out of the games in the loser’s bracket.

Some of India's most notable performances in sports at the Asian Games, 2023 include:

• Historic 1-2 for India in Men’s Javelin. Neeraj Chopra grabs gold, Kishore Jena takes silver
• Dipika Pallikal, Harinder Pal Sandhu clinch gold in Squash Mixed Doubles
• Archers Abishkek Verma, Pravin Ojas, Prathmesh Samadhan win gold in Compound Men's team event
• Swapnil Kusale, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, and Akhil Sheoran won gold in the men’s 50m rifle 3P team event.
• Palak Gulia - Women’s 10m air pistol – Shooting- Gold
• Indian Women’s Cricket Team- Gold
• Ancy Sojan recorded her personal best to win women’s long jump silver, the 4x400m mixed relay team got its medal upgraded to silver due to Sri Lanka’s lane infringement.
• Men’s canoe double 1000m, India’s Arjun Singh and Sunil Singh Salam have picked up a bronze medal.?
• Tejaswin Shankar wins India's first decathlon medal since 1974. Grabs a silver medal.?
• Overall, India until now has had a good performance at the Asian Games, 2023, in both sports and Esports. India's performance at the Games shows that the country is developing into a global power in both traditional sports and Esports. In terms of Esports, India still has a lot to develop when it comes to multinational events
• The 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, came to a close on Sunday with a colorful and technologically mesmerizing closing ceremony that celebrated the athletes' achievements and China's cultural heritage.

India's performance at the Asian Games, 2023 is a testament to the country's growing prowess in both sports and Esports. India's athletes and Esports players put on a fantastic show, and their achievements should be celebrated. With continued investment and support, India is poised to become a global leader in both sports and Esports in the coming years.