With a lot of medals on the line, athletes of 45 nations, playing 58 different kinds of sports, will give their best to win one of those at the 18th Asian Games at Jakarta Palembang. Indian athletes would love to prove their mettle in various events like Kabaddi, Shooting, Volleyball, Wushu, and others. Hopes of Indian fans would be high after Bajrang Punia won the first gold medal for India at Asian Games 2018. In Badminton, the women's team will take on Japan in team qualifier event. Men's hockey team play against Indonesia. In shooting, India will present their challenge in various categories and the responsibility to clinch medal will be on them.
Represented by 804 athletes and officials, the Indian contingent will aim to better the showing at the previous Asiad in Incheon, South Korea, where they finished eighth with 11 gold, 10 silver and 36 bronze medals on Asian Games Medal Tally. The best performance by India at the Asian Games came at the 2010 edition in Guangzhou, China where they finished sixth with 14 gold, 17 silver and 34 bronze. This year, around 12,000 athletes from 45 countries will compete in 40 disciplines. The main thrust of the Indian challenge is expected to come from athletics, wrestling, boxing and shooting. It will be interesting to see how Indians fair on the first day of Asian Games 2018.