The Indian contingent made a remarkable impression with their unprecedented medal tally at the Asian Games 2023 in China's Hangzhou. India finished with a record 107 medals at the pan-continental games.
The achievements included a record-breaking 28 gold medals for India, the biggest-ever haul in the country's history of the competition. The Indians also earned 38 silver medals and 41 bronze medals.
As the final day of the competition commenced, India was on the cusp of reaching the 100-medal milestone. With victories in men's and women's kabaddi, men's cricket, and men's doubles badminton, they concluded the Asiad on a triumphant note.
Lauding the Indian contingent for its unparalleled success at the 19th Asian Games, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the "unwavering determination, relentless spirit and hard work" of the players and said, "The entire nation is overjoyed with the highest-ever total of 107 medals, the best ever performance in the last 60 years".
Meanwhile, the performance of the arch-rivals and neighbouring Pakistan at the Asian Games 2023 was modest, as they managed to secure only three medals – one silver and two bronze. The bronze medals came from kabaddi and shooting, while the silver was achieved in the men's team squash event, where they faced a tough defeat against India in the hard-fought summit clash.
The Indian men's kabaddi team engaged in a heated contest to reclaim its Asian Games title, ultimately prevailing over defending champions Iran with a score of 33-29 in a final that was temporarily suspended due to controversy on Saturday.
The Indian women's kabaddi team clinched their 100th medal in a nail-biting final against Chinese Taipei, securing a narrow 26-25 victory.
In an unprecedented achievement, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty secured India's first-ever badminton gold medal at the Asian Games, delivering a straight-game triumph over South Korea's Choi Solgyu and Kim Wonho in Hangzhou on Sunday.
Ranked third in the world, Satwik and Chirag, who had previously won the Asian championships in March of the same year – a first for Indians in 58 years – continued their stellar performance with a 21-18 21-16 victory over Choi and Kim, who were ranked 15th, achieving a crowning achievement.
This victory also marked India's first medal in men's doubles in over four decades, since Leroy D'sa and Pradeep Gandhe secured a bronze in the 1982 edition.
The Indian men's cricket team, making their Asian Games debut, secured the gold medal after their final against Afghanistan was called off due to rain. The Ruturaj Gaikwad-led team was declared the winners based on their higher seeding in the continental competition on Saturday.
Afghanistan was at 112 for 5 in 18.2 overs when persistent rain brought the match to a halt at the Zhejiang University of Technology Cricket Field, and the game did not resume from that point onward.