The much-anticipated Asian Games 2023 will kick-start from Saturday, September 23 in Hangzhou, China. India will be aiming to scale new heights at the Asian Games 2023 after registering their best-ever medal count during the 2018 edition of the event. The 19th edition of the Asian Games will witness a 655-member strong Indian team in action in 41 disciplines out of 61. The Asian Games 2023 will be played across 56 venues, with 481 gold medals on offer. All eyes will be on the Asian Games 2023 medal tally as the likes of Neeraj Chopra, the Indian hockey teams, the badminton duo on Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will be in action.
As far as the Asian Games 2023 schedule is concerned, the continental extravaganza will officially start on September 23, but some sports disciplines like cricket, football, volleyball and beach volleyball have already kick-started from September 19 onwards.
The Indian men's and women's cricket teams, led by Ruturaj Gaikwad and Harmanpreet Kaur respectively, will be making their debut at the continental level event.
The women's team will start its campaign on September 21 and the final will be on September 25.
After this, the men's cricket teams will kickstart their campaigns from September 27 and the title clash will take place on October 7. Indian men's team will play its first match on October 3.
The Asian Games full schedule features sports like badminton, hockey, cricket, tennis, and others.
Apart from this, India will field a contingent of 68 players in track and field events in Asian Games 2023. This will be India's largest representation in the sport. Olympic and World Champion Neeraj Chopra will be India's biggest face at the event, aiming to replicate his gold-winning heroics in 2018.
The poster girl of Indian squash, Dipika Pallikal will also be in focus this year. She paired up with Joshna Chinappa to win India's first Commonwealth Games gold medal in squash in the Glasgow edition of CWG in 2014. Her other accomplishments include several medals in World Championships, Commonwealth Games and Asian Games, besides becoming the first Indian woman to be ranked in the top 10.
The Hangzhou Asian Games, where Dipika will compete in the mixed doubles event, is expected to be her swansong.
The games were originally slated for 2022 but were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in China last year. India had registered a medal tally of 70 at Jakarta, their best performance to date.
Here's the Asian Games 2023 full schedule, with the dates of the all the 61 sports disciplines:
- Archery: 1–7 October
- Artistic Gymnastics: 24–29 September
- Artistic Swimming: 6–8 October
- Athletics: 29 September–5 October
- Badminton: 28 September–7 October
- Baseball: 26 September–7 October
- Basketball: 26 September–6 October
- Basketball 3×3: 25 September–1 October
- Beach Volleyball: 19–28 September
- Boxing: 24 September–5 October
- Breakdancing: 6–7 October
- Bridge: 27 September–6 October
- Canoe/Kayak (Slalom): 5–7 October
- Canoe/Kayak (Sprint): 30 September–3 October
- Chess: 24 September–7 October
- Cricket: 19–25 September (women) and 27 September–7 October (men)
- Cycling (BMX Racing): 1 October
- Cycling (Mountain Bike): 25 September
- Cycling (Road): 3–5 October
- Cycling (Track): 26–29 September
- Diving: 30 September–4 October
- Dragon Boat: 4–6 October
- Equestrian: 26 September–6 October
- Esports: 24 September–2 October
- Fencing: 24–29 September
- Football: 19 September–7 October
- Go: 24 September–3 October
- Golf: 28 September–1 October
- Handball: 24 September–5 October
- Hockey: 24 September–7 October
- Ju-jitsu: 5–7 October
- Judo: 24–27 September
- Kabbadi: 2–7 October
- Karate: 5–8 October
- Kurash: 30 September–2 October
- Marathon Swimming: 6–7 October
- Modern Pentathlon: 20–24 September
- Rhythmic Gymnastics: 6–7 October
- Roller Skating: 30 September–7 October
- Rowing: 20–25 September
- Rugby Sevens: 24–26 September
- Sailing: 21–27 September
- Sepaktakraw: 24 September–7 October
- Shooting: 24 September–1 October
- Skateboarding: 24–27 September
- Soft Tennis: 3–7 October
- Softball: 26 September–2 October
- Sport Climbing: 3–7 October
- Squash: 26 September–5 October
- Swimming: 24–29 September
- Table tennis: 22 September–2 October
- Taekwondo: 24–28 September
- Tennis: 24–30 September
- Trampoline Gymnastics: 2–3 October
- Triathlon: 29 September–2 October
- Volleyball: 19–26 September (men) and 30 September–7 October (women)
- Water Polo: 25 September–7 October
- Weightlifting: 30 September–7 October
- Wrestling: 4–7 October
- Wushu: 24–28 September
- Xiangqi: 28 September–7 October