India's 85-medal haul at the recently concluded Asian Games in Japan included victories by athletes who trained with limited money, borrowed equipment, and overcame personal hardships. The country won 21 gold, 27 silver, and 37 bronze medals, showcasing a breadth of sporting talent beyond cricket.
Breakthroughs and Historic Wins
The games featured individual breakthroughs, broken records, and historic team victories, including the Indian women's hockey team's gold medal after a 44-year wait. Sports broadcaster Siddharth Pandey highlighted the importance of visibility, citing the saying, “You cannot be what you cannot see.” He noted the rallying of families and communities around four female players from the north-eastern states, a region often overlooked in national conversations. “We simply cannot underestimate the impact these games and medals have on future generations taking up non-cricketing sport and wanting to excel in it,” Pandey said.
Recognition remains a challenge for some athletes. Vidya Pillai, the first Indian woman to win a snooker world championship, spoke about her sport not receiving the attention it deserves, feeling unacknowledged after her 2023 feat, which came after six unsuccessful world finals and victories over two former world champions.
Stories of Perseverance
Neeru Dhanda, who won gold in trap shooting, comes from a family in Haryana's Jind that relies on the government's food subsidy programme. She began her sporting journey with a borrowed shotgun and tin cans as targets. Despite spending days in a hospital recovering from an illness right before the games, she became the first Indian woman to win an individual gold in trap shooting at the Asian Games. She also won a second gold in the mixed team trap event and a silver in the women's team trap event.
Vithya Ramraj, a breakout star with a three-medal haul, had her father borrow money to support her and her twin sister's athletic careers. Alongside the team gold in the 4x400m, she won a silver in the mixed 4x400m relay and broke Indian legend PT Usha's long-held national record in the 400m hurdles, earning a bronze.
Sahil Jadhav, who won gold in compound mixed archery and men's compound team, had contemplated quitting archery due to lack of progress. Forced to compete with borrowed arrows in selection trials, his mother sold her jewellery to buy him professional compound bows. Now, the 25-year-old has two gold medals and an automatic entry to the 2028 LA Olympics.
Team Efforts and Individual Feats
Lalremsiami Hmarzote, a forward in the gold-winning women's hockey team, once travelled about 100 miles from her home to reach the only hockey academy in Mizoram. Growing up, her parents had no idea about hockey, and she played barefoot on dirt pitches. In her 200th international appearance, she scored the lone goal in the final against China, described by Hockey India as a “stunning reverse-stick strike”.
Ancy Sojan, who won silver in long jump with a leap of 6.53 metres, broke the national record earlier this year. Diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome last year, she had to drastically change her diet and manage medication-related weight gain. Aslam Inamdar, a member of the gold-winning men's kabaddi team, came from humble beginnings in Maharashtra's Ahilyanagar, working odd jobs from cleaning washrooms to working in the fields to afford evening training. “It still feels like a dream to me,” Inamdar told the Indian Express. “I often think about how someone who didn't even have food at home now holds two international medals.”
