Harpal Singh Bedi
New Delhi.20 September: Two olympic medalists Hockey captain Harmanpreet Singh and ace boxer Lovlina Borgohain will lead the Indian contingent at he opening ceremony at the Asian Games in Hangzhou,China on Saturday.
Harmanpreet Singh is regarded as most effective drag-flickers in world hockey and was a member of Olympic bronze medal-winning team in Tokyo.
With six goals, Singh was India’s top scorer at Tokyo He also led India to a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham last year.
Lovlina Borgohain, in her weight category, is a reigning amateur world champion, an Asian champion and an Olympic bronze medallist.
Mary Kom is the only other Indian boxer apart from Lovlina to have won an Olympic medal and a gold at the world boxing championships.
Olympic and world champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra is also in the contingent for the Asian Games but has already been a flag-bearer for India at the Asian Games during the 2018 Jakarta opening ceremony.
The Asian Games in Hangzhou will see a 655-member strong Indian contingent in action in over 40 disciplines.
It is India’s largest contingent at the continental showpiece. A total of 56 venues will be used in and around Hangzhou with 481 gold medals on offer.
The closing ceremony for Asian Games 2023 will be held on October 8.