India hoping to return with a rich medal haul

Fresh from their creditable show in the recent Commonwealth Games, the largest ever Indian contingent will be hoping to make a significant impact and improve its medals tally in the 14th Asian Games which begins in Busan on Sunday.

The record haul of 30 gold medals in the recent Commonwealth Games in Manchester has served as a huge morale booster for the athletes who have often struggled to make an impact at the international level but the going may prove to be far more difficult at the Asian Games where powerhouses China, Japan and hosts South Korea are likely to win the bulk of the gold medals.

The Manchester booty has not only given the much needed impetus to Indian sports which had been confined to the depths of mediocrity for much too long but has also raised the level of expectation from the athletes.

For the first time ever, all the 43 countries affiliated to the Olympic Council of Asia will be taking part in the Games symbolising the "harmony and peace of Asia", and the presence of North Korea has ushered in a new era of hope for the reunification of the two Koreas.

Over 6000 athletes from these countries ranging from mighty China to tiny East Timor - participating on a provisional basis - will battle for glory in the next 16 days of competitions which could see upsets galore and the emergence of new sporting heroes in the Asian region.

Considered to be the biggest ever Asian Games since its inception in 1951, the mega event will offer 420 gold medals in 38 disciplines. Two new disciplines have been added to the list - modern pentathlon and body building.

India's medal hopes will mainly lie on the shooters, athletes, tennis players and weightlifters while billiards and snooker, boxing and hockey teams were also hoping of returning home with some medals.

India had a medal tally of seven gold, 11 silver and 17 bronze medals at Bangkok in 1998 to take the ninth position on the table and will be eager to improve upon their tally this time around. It was much better than the four gold, three silver and 16 bronze medals they managed in the 1994 Hiroshima Games.

The competitions expected to be much stiffer at the Asian level, the athletes have their tasks cut out to come anywhere near the Manchester collection.

After the splendid performance in Manchester, the spotlight will be on the shooters although they have acknowledged that getting gold medals with the Korean and Chinese shooters around will be a far more difficult task.

The men's hockey team will face a daunting task of retaining their gold with traditional rivals Pakistan, hosts South Korea and Malaysia being their main challengers. On the other hand the women's team, which clinched its first ever gold medal in the Commonwealth Games, have a very good chance of winning the gold or the silver since only four teams are taking part.

Pistol king Jaspal Rana, Abhinav Bindra, Anjali Bhagwat are expected to spearhead the Indian challenge in the shooting event in the Changwon International Shooting Range. The Indians had managed just three silver medals in the last edition of the Games in Bangkok.

The athletics events at the Busan Main stadium could also fetch a few medals for India going by their current performance. The athletes did very well in Manchester to win a silver and a bronze medal and it remains to be seen whether they can repeat the show in here.

Middle distance runner K M Beenamol, jumper Anju B George, Shakti Singh, Bobby Alloysius were the medal prospects in the event which will begin on October 7.

The five-member weightlifting contingent is also hopeful of picking up a couple of medals though their performance was far from impressive in the last Asian Games in Bangkok where they secured only one silver medal. But Manchester was a revelation as Kunjarani Devi and Sanamacha Chanu not only swept all three gold medals in their respective weight categories but also accounted for a sizeable portion of the medal collection.

The spotlight will again be on Kunjarani Devi and Sanamacha Chanu while Pratima Kumari also has the capability of landing a medal. The last minute withdrawal of Neelam Sethi Laxmi due to an injury has been a big setback for the team. Neelam's withdrawal has not yet been officially intimated to the media here by the Indian delegation.

The lifters have also been faced with the task of restoring India's honour and prestige to some extent after two Indian lifters Krishnan Madasamy and Satheesha Rai failed dope test in Manchester which pushed India to the fourth place behind Canada as their medals were stripped.

The reunification of the Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi, the former world number one doubles pair, has the potential of providing India with the coveted gold medal in the Games but it remains to be seen whether the duo can show the same magic again.

The two will play together again after six months since splitting for a second time in a span of two and half years and may find the going tough with a number of strong players from Thailand, Japan and Korea in the fray.

The pugilists are also hoping to come home with a couple of medals and it will be left to Dingko Singh, Mohammed Ali Qamar and Jitender Kumar to do the job while Geet Sethi, Alok Kumar and Devendra Joshi are the medal aspirants in billiards.

The Indians will also be taking part in rowing, yachting, sailing, equestrian, judo, wrestling, karate, squash, snooker, table tennis, kabbadi.