India, which has already surpassed its best-ever medal haul at the Asian Games, is set to go past the magical figure of 100 on Saturday.
The country’s previous best show was at Jakarta-Palembang 2018, where it won 70 medals — 16 gold, 23 silver, and 31 bronze.
While, at the end of Friday’s action, the count reads 95, India is already assured of winning at least seven more medals in archery, cricket, badminton, and kabaddi.
The Ruturaj Gaikwad-led Indian men’s cricket team will meet Afghanistan in the final, assured of at least a silver medal.
In compound archery’s women’s individual gold medal match, Jyothi Surekha Vennam is gearing up to meet Korea’s So Chaewon. In the men’s section, India is set to complete a historic one-two finish as Abhishek Verma goes up against Ojas Pravin Deotale.
With the discipline trying to seek a permanent place on the programme of Los Angeles 2028, this development comes as a morale booster for the Indian outfit.
The Indian men’s kabaddi team, which has won the gold medal in every edition of the Games except 2018, will be looking to get back to winning ways against Iran in the final. The women’s team has also entered the final and will meet Chinese Taipei.
With less than 300 days to go until the Paris Olympics, the red-hot form of the men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty augurs well for Indian badminton. The duo’s performance on Friday against the celebrated Malaysian pairing of Aaron Chia and Soh WY bears testament to their calibre.
Prior to their encounter at the Asian Games, the Indian pair had managed to beat their Malaysian opponents only once — at the Indonesian Open — in eight meetings.
India’s medal count can go beyond 102, with the men’s and women’s chess sides (currently second), the women’s hockey team (playing the 3rd–4th classification against Japan), and Aditi Swami (playing the bronze medal in women’s compound archery) only a step away from the podium.
The writer is a journalist with Sportstar