HANGZHOU: Even before India entered its last day of competition at the 19th Asian Games on October 7, confirmations for podium-finishes had ensured that the 100-medal mark would be accomplished. And it didn't take long to come. In the early hours of Saturday in India, the women's kabaddi team's win over Chinese Taipei in the final became the breaking news.
It was the country's first three-figure mark on the medals tally in the 72-year history of the Games.
In Jakarta five years ago, India's final medal count stood at 70, including 16 gold. By the time Indian action ended on Saturday, the number in Hangzhou reached 107, including 28 gold, 31 silver and 48 bronze.
In terms of position on the medals tally, the fourth-place finish here is India's third best, after No. 2 in Delhi 1951 and No. 3 in Jakarta 1962.
With a contingent of 655 athletes, which is India's largest ever to an Asiad, going past the Jakarta tally was on the cards, while reaching 100 was a touch and go until the track and field campaign provided the finishing touches to what shooting started, after the Games were declared open by China's president Xi Jinping on September 23.
But it wasn't a smooth start off the blocks back home, when the football squad kept going through last-minute additions and deletions, while the build-up of the equestrian and boxing campaigns faced legal challenges and the wrestlers didn't have the ideal preparation because of protests and court wranglings.
Upon reaching China, the news around the Wushu athletes from Arunachal Pradesh facing visa and accreditation issues took a controversial turn and eventually three of them saw their Asian Games dreams ending.
In contrast, there are smiles all around towards the end, as Saturday saw India winning the most gold medals on a single day of the competition since September 23. The two gold medals from kabaddi men and women, one from men's cricket, two from archery and the historic badminton gold by Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty in men's doubles swelled India's tally from 22 to 28.
The loudest roars have come from athletics and shooting. The 22 medals won at the shooting ranges in Fuyang got India the start it was looking for, led by four medals each by rifle shooter Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar and pistol shooter Esha Singh. It remained India's best sport in terms of delivering gold medals (7).
The 29 track and field medals came like a desert storm, amid controversies where the Indian athletes, including Neeraj Chopra, faced alleged bias by the Chinese officials, but the Olympic and world champion went on to successfully defend his 2018 men's javelin gold.
In total, athletics added 6 gold to India's tally. Archery was the next best with 5 gold and 9 medals in total.
From September 24 to October 7, each day saw India winning multiple medals. Of the 107 medals in total, 52 have been won by men and 46 by women, while 9 came in the mixed events.
Among the 34 Indian athletes who won multiple medals, shooters Aishwary and Esha topped the list with four medals each. But if one takes only the gold medals into the equation, then archers Jyothi Surekha Vennam and Ojas Pravin Deotale come out as the most successful Indian athletes with three gold each.
There have been historic firsts as well as some heartwarming feats.
The team dressage gold was the first ever for India in Asian Games, just like Satwik-Chirag's top-place finish in badminton, rifle shooter Sift Kaur Samra's gold with a world record in the women's 50m 3 Positions final, Eabad Ali's windsurfing bronze and the women's doubles table tennis bronze by Sutirtha Mukherjee and Ayhika Mukherjee after a stunning win over the reigning world champions.
1/10:Hangzhou Asian Games: India finishes campaign with record 107 medals
2/10:India win six gold medals on Day 14
<p>India finished its Asian Games campaign with a record haul of 107 medals (28 gold, 38 silver, 41 bronze) to finish fourth (on gold-medal count), improving on its 2018 tally of 70 medals, which included 16 gold.<br /></p>ANI
3/10:India win six gold medals on Day 14
<p>Indian men’s cricket team celebrates after bagging a historic gold medal in a rain-marred match against Afghanistan at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.<br /></p>PTI
4/10:India win six gold medals on Day 14
<p>The Indian cricket team poses with their gold medal at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.<br /></p>PTI
5/10:India win six gold medals on Day 14
<p>India's Jyothi Surekha Vennam poses with her gold medal for the archery compound women's individual event at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.<br /></p>PTI
6/10:India win six gold medals on Day 14
<p>India's Ojas Pravin Deotale bags a gold in the compound men’s individual archery event at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.<br /></p>PTI
7/10:India win six gold medals on Day 14
<p>Indian players pose with the gold medal after beating Iran in the men's kabaddi final at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.<br /></p>ANI
8/10:India win six gold medals on Day 14
<p>Indian kabaddi team poses after winning the gold in the women's team event at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.<br /></p>PTI
9/10:India win six gold medals on Day 14
<p>Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty clinch a historic gold medal in the badminton men's doubles event at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.<br /></p>ANI
10/10:India win six gold medals on Day 14
<p>India's Abhishek Verma takes a silver in the archery compound men's individual event at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.<br /></p>AFPHS Prannoy ended a 41-year wait for badminton to have an Asian Games men's singles medallist, with Syed Modi being the last with his third-place finish in 1982. Kishore Jena finishing behind Neeraj Chopra for men's javelin silver booked him a Paris Olympics ticket, just like the men's hockey team that qualified for the Olympics with a 5-1 win over Japan in the final.
Squash great Saurav Ghosal's sixth Asian Games appearance was possibly his last, but ended with a dream unfulfilled when he lost in the men's singles final after leading the men's team to gold.
There was disappointment for Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist wrestler Bajrang Punia, who returned empty handed. And the women's hockey team missed qualification for the Olympics, settling for a bronze medal in the end.
The 15-year-old teenagers Anahat Singh, who won two bronze medals in women's team and mixed doubles squash events, and roller-skater Sanjana Bathula, who won a bronze in women's team relay, were on the other end of generation compared to India's oldest medallist of the event, the 65-year-old Bridge player Jaggy Shivdasani.
Shivdasani was part of the silver-medal winning men's Bridge team.
"Our Prime Minister's (Narendra Modi) mission is to make India a superpower in sports. That's why there is so much exposure and incentives for the athletes. That's why results are coming. So I am sure 100% they will do a good job at the Paris Olympics," said the Indian Olympic Association president and legendary athlete PT Usha.
Some of the athletes have already flown home at the end of their respective campaigns, while the others will fly back after the Closing Ceremony on October 8.
