18th Asian Games kicks off today in Indonesia; 8 players from Northeast eyeing for medals

The Asian Games got underway at Jakarta in Indonesia on Saturday and after the gold rush at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, onus will be on the athletes to emulate

The Asian Games got underway at Jakarta in Indonesia on Saturday and after the gold rush at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, onus will be on the athletes to emulate their performance.

With as many as 7 players from Assam and 1 from Tripura representing India in this sporting extravaganza, the Asian Games will be special for the Northeast.

The list starts with sprinter Hima Das as the region expect some smashing performance from the young player during her stint at the Asiad.

Fresh from her gold medal in the World Under 20 Championships, Hima will be leading the charge. Hima is in fact the first Indian athlete who won a gold at a track event.

Another pride of the Northeast Tripura’s Dipa Karmakar, popularly known as the poster girl of Indian gymnastics, will be making a comeback at the Asian Games.

The spotlight has always been on Karmakar ever since her heart-breaking fourth place finish at the Rio Olympics.

The region also witnessed a rising superstar in the form of Ashmita Chaliha who made a name for herself by securing a spot in India’s Asian Games squad by winning in the All India Senior Ranking Tournament held in Hyderabad.

Pramila Daimary, the only archer from Assam who has a world ranking of 15 in her game and has brought laurels to the nation by winning gold at the Archery Asia Cup in Bangkok, Thailand will also be representing India.

Shiva Thapa is the first and only Indian boxer to win three consecutive Asian Championships and would be competing in his second Asian Games.

In Fencing, there is Kabita Devi who bagged gold medal in the senior national fencing championship held in Raipur, Chattishgarh.

Tezpur girl Rodali Baruah, a black belt champion in Taekwondo will also be part of the Indian women’s Taekwondo team in Asian Games.

The homegirl has brought laurels to the country by representing India in a number of Taekwondo Championships in the +73kg heavyweight category.

Meanwhile, Jonali Dutta of Assam has also been selected to represent the Indian women’s basketball in the Asiad.

Eyes are all set on all the players for them to shine bright and bring accolades to this land of rugged beauty.

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