The 19th edition of Asian Games 2023 finally beckons us all and will take place from September 23 to October 8, in Hangzhou, China. The 19th edition was supposed to take place last year but was postponed due to Covid-19. The Asian Games 2023 opening ceremony will take place on September 23 and India will also bring a 655-member strong contingent, who will participate in 41 disciplines.
A total of 40 sports across 61 disciplines will be there at the Asian Games, including cricket, football and athletics. The closing ceremony will take place on October 8. The three mascots of the Games, Congcong, Lianlian and Chenchen, known as the ‘Memories of Jiangnan’ were unveiled on April 3 2020. Meanwhile, the official theme song of the Games, ‘With You and Me’, was released with its video on April 27 2023, performed by Angea Zhang, Jackson Wang, Sunnee and JC-T.
Here is the 2023 Asian Games Sports Programme:
1. Aquatics
– Artistic swimming
– Diving
– Marathon swimming
– Swimming
– Water polo
2. Archery
3. Athletics
4. Badminton
5. Baseball
– Baseball
– Softball
6. Basketball
– Basketball
– 3×3 basketball
7. Boxing
8. Breakdancing
9. Canoeing
– Slalom
– Sprint
10. Cricket
11. Cycling
– BMX
– Mountain bike
– Road
– Track
12. Dragon boat
13. Equestrian
14. Fencing
15. Field hockey
16. Football
17. Golf
18. Gymnastics
– Artistic
– Rhythmic
– Trampoline
19. Handball
20. Judo
21. Kabaddi
22. Martial arts
– Ju-jitsu
– Karate
– Kurash
23. Mind sports
– Bridge
– Chess
– Esports
– Go
– Xiangqi
24. Modern pentathlon
25. Roller sports
– Roller skating
– Skateboarding
26. Rowing
27. Rugby sevens
28. Sailing
29. Sepak takraw
30. Shooting
31. Sport climbing
32. Squash
33. Table tennis
34. Taekwondo
35. Tennis
– Soft tennis
– Tennis
36. Triathlon
37. Volleyball
– Beach volleyball
– Volleyball
38. Weightlifting
39. Wrestling
40. Wushu
Although the opening ceremony is scheduled for September 23, cricket, football, volleyball and beach volleyball will start from September 19. Meanwhile, the Indian men’s and women’s cricket teams will be making their Asian Games debut. The Indian women’s cricket team will begin their campaign on September 21 and the men’s team will start on September 27.
Indian will also have 68 athletes in track and field, with the spotlight on Olympic and world javelin champion Neeraj Chopra. He is also the reigning Asian Games champion. Hockey will also serve as a qualifier for 2024 Olympics, and the Indian hockey teams will look for an early ticket by winning gold.
