After Gold Coast high, India brace for Jakarta test
TASK CUT OUT Completely dominated by China, Korea and Japan, can India better their 2010 Guangzhou haul of 65 medals?
Guru Dutt Sondhi is to Asian Games what Baron Pierre de Coubertin is to the Olympics. Sondhi, who represented India at the International Olympic Committee in the 1940s, played a key role in birthing the continental Games just like French educator who was the founder of the modern Olympics. Sondhi mooted the idea of Asian Games in a meeting of sports administrators from the continent at the London Olympics in 1948, and got the Indian government to organise the first edition, in New Delhi in 1951.
Unlike the Olympics, Sondhi, who died in 1966, would have found his brainchild in not-so-robust health going into the 18th edition that begins in Jakarta and Palembang on August 18. Having expanded into an unwieldy structure that its members are finding difficult to organise, the Asian Games seems to be at the crossroads.
With 45 countries and territories eligible to participate in nearly 40 disciplines, the Games are turning out to be a financial nightmare for organisers. For elucidation, look no farther than the 2018 edition. Its original host Hanoi pulled out once the Vietnam government realised that the financial burden would be huge and returns in terms of sponsorship and tourist inflow limited.
The Olympic Council of Asia selected Indonesia after considering interest shown by China, UAE, India and the Philippines. The Indian Olympic Association was given a lot of time to get the government to underwrite the Games but failed to do so. Jakarta and Palembang were eventually awarded the hosting rights and the Games moved from 2019 to 2018 to avoid the general elections in Indonesia.
India’s performance at the Games has been up and down. From finishing second in 1951, India now fight for the 5th-8th spots. Completely dominated by China followed by South Korea, Japan and the entry of former Soviet republics like Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan has made it tougher for India.
So, this time too China are expected to win the bulk of the medals with South Korea possibly finishing a distant second. That could leave Japan, Iran, Kazakhstan, India and Thailand fighting for the remaining places in the top six. For India, a founding member who also hosted the Games in 1982, the 2018 edition will serve as an indicator of its recent progress and an important step in its Target Olympic Podium scheme. With the Olympics in Tokyo two years away, the Indians, following the success at the last CWG, can test their preparedness in Indonesia.
India finished third at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast this year with 66 medals including 26 gold, their third best overall tally, having done well in badminton, table tennis, weightlifting, wrestling and boxing.
Though the Asian Games would be far tougher, India’s sportspersons dreaming of medals in Tokyo will have to put their best foot forward if the country has to improve on its eighth-place finish in Incheon in 2014.
India’s best haul at the Asian Games came in Guangzhou in 2010 where they won 65 medals including 14 gold. That performance came on the heels of a superlative display in the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi where India finished second with 101 medals.
Having done well at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, will India be able to repeat their act in Jakarta-Palembang?