With huge resources, a Soviet-style sports regime geared to churning out champions and an insatiable desire to win gold, the question is not whether China will top the medal standings at the Incheon Asian Games but by how much.
China has reigned supreme since finishing top of the table at the Asian Games it hosted in 1990 and sent records tumbling ever since.
Still basking in the runaway success of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, China reaped a record 416 medals at the last Asian Games at home in Guangzhou, with its tally of 199 gold medals nearly three times the haul of runners-up South Korea.
Set to unleash a mammoth delegation of 899 members on Incheon, the Games’ largest, China will look to eclipse that mark again.
Courtesy demanded that the full roster of China’s champions turned up to Guangzhou, but gymnastics officials have already conceded they are sending a ‘B’ team to South Korea, saving their best for the world championships in October, while the country’s top tennis players Li Na and Peng Shuai have opted out.
Despite the absences, China will have more than enough in reserve to reap rivers of gold.
Gold glitters for India despite turmoil
India are seeking a record Asian Games medal haul despite a chaotic build-up, with their jumbo squad slashed at the last minute, their boxers under a cloud and top athletes either injured or opting out.
With just 10 days to go, the intended travelling party of 942 athletes and officials was cut by nearly a third in a cost-saving move, which discarded 146 competitors.
Separately India’s boxers, led by multiple world champion Mary Kom, face the prospect of not being able to fight under the national flag following a row with the International Boxing Association.
Star boxer Vijender Singh is out injured, while Olympic medal-winning wrestler Sushil Kumar and India’s number one tennis player Somdev Devvarman are both concentrating on other competitions.
In a further blow to tennis hopes, doubles specialists Leander Paes, Rohan Bopanna and Sania Mirza were granted permission by the All-India Tennis Association on Wednesday to skip the Games.
Despite the problems, India are bullish about their prospects at the Asian Games.
“I am very optimistic we will get 70-75 medals, if not more,” declared Jiji Thomson, the director-general of the state-run Sports Authority of India.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 11th, 2014.
Like Sports on Facebook, follow @ETribuneSports on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.
1714129906-0/Clint-Eastwood-(1)1714129906-0-270x192.webp)
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ